Blades and Bandages
by SomeRandomFicWriter
Summary: Remnant is thrown into war between the White Fang and the four kingdoms, Faunus and Humans both taking sides and war doesn't look like it's going to end in sight. Blake Belladonna, a skilled assassin, has been contracted again to eliminate Atlas Leaders but fails during her last attempt and was left to die. Stranded behind enemy territory barely hanging onto her life she meets her.
1. Fateful Encounters

The night was crisp and peaceful, the cool air blowing through, the villagers going about their lives with little to no commotion, and the stars above glimmering. The ebony haired girl was sitting on top of the walls surrounding the village gazing about until her friends interrupted.

"Blake, it's time."

Blake turned from the sight of the stars towards the one speaking to her, her gaze fell upon a brown haired girl clad in black leather armor with a grimm mask in hand. She had daggers along her belt with a compact crossbow slung on her back with a sling of bolts.

"Okay, what's the location of our targets Ilia?" Blake stood up from where she was sitting gripping the short sword on her belt.

"May Zedong, Atlas' second best archer and King Ironwood." She responded as she placed her grimm mask over her face. "It's about time we cut off the head of Atlas' "great" army."

Blake nodded in reply as she wore her mask. She looked back towards the squad that had assembled, three male Faunus and two females including herself all dressed in black leather armor and grimm masks hiding their identities.

"Everyone knows the plan right?" Blake waited for everyone to nod in rely before continuing, "Then let's begin, we have this short window of opportunity and we can't afford to miss it."

Blake threw over her hood before descending down into the village, hopping from rooftop to rooftop avoid any onlooker's gaze while making her way towards the villa along the river. The group barely made any sounds as they approached the large two-story villa, they stopped on a nearby rooftop that gave an overlook the entire estate. She spotted only a couple of guards dressed in white armor patrolling the courtyard, some with blue strips on the chest piece. Blake signaled her squad, then immediately dropping bellow into the shadows of the building. She snuck past two guards as she climbed towards one of the open windows, she barely made any sound entering as she scanned for any movement in the room. Satisfied she left the room, creeping through the halls listening to any footsteps from the guards. She made her way to a side room where one of her unit waiting by the window. He handed her a pouch full of throwing knives and signaled towards the hallway.

"Three guards to the left, one is facing towards you if you enter while the other two are facing away." He muttered, "Ilia is position to take out the one facing us, give us the word and she'll fire."

Blake nodded as she caught the pouch, taking out two throwing knives while sneaking towards the hallway. She heard the guards discussing about a soldier, one who certainly caused trouble for both the Faunus and the army alike.

 _The Red Reaper_

Or what at least what some of the soldiers said. For the past couple of weeks there were reports of a soldier that was causing problems for the White Fang, they've sent out feelers and spies to figure out who this person was but it seems that no one knows. All they know was that they would wear a crimson cloak with a grimm mask and was a Vale soldier who was transferred. Not much was known about them as very few got to stay alive after an encounter with them, most of the Faunus soldiers say that they're the best archer in the corps. She shook her head, trying to concentrate on the task at hand.

'There's absolutely no way that someone like them existed' She thought to herself before peaking around the corner. She spotted the guards in their positions, she signaled Ilia then dashed into the hallway. A bolt flew past her as it connected with the guard's head, she threw the knives into each guards throats then pulled out her daggers cutting their heads off. Blake stopped to listen for anyone before moving towards the closed door, she heard several people inside, laughing, singing, and caught the smell of alcohol, completely unaware of what's going to happen next. She waited for her unit to mobilize, then dashed inside as the door was broken down. Several shouts were audible as Blake made her way towards the drunken archer, when she was in range she slashed opened her throat letting her bleed out as she scanned the room. Everyone was taken out as she looked over, she counted all of her squadron as she sheathed her dagger.

"Target one confirmed, proceed to part two." She ordered.

"Roger," Everyone echoed as they left. They traveled along the bank of the river, hiding along the trees as they arrived at Castle Alsius. They scaled the walls using the shadows to conceal themselves. Blake snuck through the battlements along with two other Faunus, quickly taking out the guards stationed inside. Once secured Blake crept along the outer wall until she got inside the keep. The room she entered was long abandoned as the sign of cobwebs were present and the line of dust in the furniture. She kept her ear to the door as she heard bystanders walked past, engaged in an interesting conversation.

"Did you hear? Vale sent over more reinforcements and they've just arrived last night!"

"Really? It was nice of King Ozpin to send over Miss Schnee and Miss Nikos weeks earlier and now they've sent us Miss Xiao Long and Miss Valkyrie."

"But what of the other ally? The one King Ironwood personally asked for?"

Blake's ears twitched at the new information mentioned.

"It matters not, that person is troublesome enough with our own forces than against the White Fang themselves."

"Surely what you said was untrue, they've done great things for us and even gathered valuable information too."

"But afterwards they cause tension every time they're with the troops, everyone is scared of them and it seems that the young crimson haired medic is the only one who talks to them."

'Crimson haired medic? Wait are they referring to the Red Reaper?'

"Ah! I knew I was forgetting someone, Miss Rose is one of the nicest people I've met in the line of work. It's a shame that she still talk to them on her free time."

"I know, I feel as if they're going to do something to the innocent girl-"

Blake pulled away from the door, trying to process all the information that she'd heard. She pulled out a parchment and a pen, jolting down all the information before slipping it away. She went back to the door, trying to listen for more but couldn't hear anything.

'Looks like they're gone, whatever it's time to move'

She silently opened and closed the door as she went towards the King's chamber. She crept around corners avoiding sentries and patrols as she stepped into the storage room. As she closed the door, she was greeted with Ilia watching the other door with her dagger in hand.

"Ilia, how much time do we have?"

"A couple more minutes until King Ironwood arrives at the castle with Vale's reinforcements." Ilia whispered. "Got any new information?"

Blake passed her the slip of parchment as she unsheathed her own dagger, "Looks like we got some new info on the Red Reaper."

Ilia looked at her in a bewildered fashion, "The Red Reaper? This is going to be interesting."

"There's a medic who has information on them, or at least is in contact with them."

"Really? That's great, the Red Reaper isn't going to make an appearance tonight. I think we got very lucky."

"After this contact the White Fang, send feelers and spies for a crimson haired medic that goes by the surname of Rose."

Ilia nodded as she opened the door to let in the rest of the squadron. Everyone checked their weapons and Ilia reloaded her crossbow, Blake looked out from the window and spotted the royal carriage approaching the main gates. They all dispersed as they made their way towards their assigned positions, Blake perched herself on top of a tower, taking out the sentry before he noticed. She took his bow and arrows, notching an arrow aiming towards the escort below. The carriage stopped in the courtyard with Ironwood stepping out with his Guardian Winter Schnee by his side. A couple of soldiers also stepped out from the carriage behind theirs, one with golden hair and the other with pure white.

'Vale's reinforcements huh, doesn't matter to us'

She aimed towards the king, letting loose the arrow. She heard Ilia's crossbow fire right after with multiple arrows flying towards the King. The ambush would've worked if Vale didn't step in. A bright redheaded warrior jumped in front of the arrows with her shield deflecting them while Winter cast an ice wall blocking Ilia's bolts.

'Damn Oum, the mission was a bust'

"Everyone scatter!" Blake yelled as she jumped from the tower unto the battlements. She saw black figures quickly making their way over the wall while one was caught by a flying icicle. She saw his body go limb as it landed in the courtyard, she dashed across the battlements quickly noticing someone chasing behind her. The attacker behind her was much faster than she realized, they were almost on her until one of her squad-mates jumped in to slow them down.

"Get out of here Captain!" He shouted as he fended off the white-haired warrior.

Blake turned around and saw him get cut down immediately, she was almost off the castle walls hoping that she could dive into the river for an escape until she felt a burning pain forming on her left shoulder. She ducked behind battlements as she checked her wound, she pulled out the arrow stuck into her shoulder and made another attempt towards the river. Arrows flew by her with two more attackers joining in on hunting her down, she pulled out a couple of throwing knives and briefly turning around tossing them pinpoint at their heads. They easily blocked the projectiles as they closed in, Blake stopped and pulled put both daggers from her belt desperately trying to buy some time for her escape. She blocked the redhead's spear from connecting with her other shoulder and dodged the blond-headed girl's swing with her long sword, she tried side-stepping but felt searing pain forming on her right arm and chest. She jumped back to inspect the wounds that were caused, noticing the gashes made on her body. She looked back towards the river and back towards the attackers in front of her,

'It's way too high to jump, there has to be another way' She kept on repeating those thoughts in her head as she tried to think of a way out of this.

"Surrender now assassin," The redhead yelled, as they slowly cornered her.

"Glory to the White Fang!" Blake cried as she turned around preparing to jump to the lower parts of the castle until she felt herself be flung over by the impact of the arrow entering her back. She was tossed over the battlements and towards the river below silently screaming until she blacked out as she hit the water.

The three pursuers looked towards the waters below before looking at the archer who shot the arrow.

"Sorry, I grabbed a long bow instead of my Magnhild." Nora apologized as she leaped from a nearby tower.

"It's alright Nora, although we didn't get the information we at least stopped the assassins and their leader." Pyrrha quickly reassured her companion.

"Really?" Nora asked quietly.

"Yes, yes now can we please get back inside? We still need to write our report to King Ozpin and King Ironwood." Weiss fumed.

The three nodded in agreement as they made their way off the battlements and inside the keep.

Yang looked back towards the river, and thought of what had transpired tonight. She knew that they sent the assassins after Ironwood but she feared that the White Fang sent assassins after any potential threat including officers or medics alike. She began to doubt sending Ruby to Signal, a nearby village that is somewhat far from where she was even though it was her sister's request. She sighed, even though Signal was in Atlas territory she's still scared of White Fang soldiers sneaking over the border and attacking several villages. Her train of thought was disturbed with a light punch to her arm with azure blue eyes staring back at her.

"Don't worry Yang, Ruby's old enough to take care of herself. Better than most people her age you know." Weiss reassured her.

"I know sweetheart, but I'm still her sister. It's only natural that I look after her and her wellbeing."

"Still, I think you're a little too overprotective of her," Yang glared daggers at Weiss. "I mean you ran out several boys who were asking your sister out."

"In my defense they were perverts and one of them was pressuring her, besides I don't know if she's even looking for a relationship right now."

"Is that so?" Weiss looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, she said that she isn't interested in talking about boys and that she has a lot of work on her hands to spare the thought."

"Speaking about her, didn't she go to Signal a couple of days ago?"

"She did, she should've sent a letter by now."

"Hey guys! The courier just arrived and there's a letter for the both of you!" Nora yelled across the battlements.

"Your sister never fails to delivers does she?" Weiss elbowed Yang in the side.

Yang smiled at that remark before retiring to the keep with her lover in tow.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to visit the bank at this hour Ruby?" Penny asked the crimson haired girl as she was putting on her cloak over her small hat.

"Yep! There's practically no one there to disturb me while I relax." She tied the cloak around her shoulders and began to walk out the door until the orange-haired ginger stopped her.

"You know Yang told me to look after you right?"

"I know Penny," Ruby groaned in irritation, it seems that whenever she would like some time off her sister would always be somewhat present. "You should take the night off, go home and relax."

"But-"

"Let me stop you right there, I'm the youngest active officer in both the Atlas and Vale armies not to mention part of the first away squad that arrived here to support the Atlas army against the White Fang and-"

"Okay, okay you made your point Ruby." She tried calming down the mumbling crimsonette. "It's just that you're part of the _Special Forces_ and you're their combat medic."

"Yeah so?"

"That means the White Fang might send troops after you."

Ruby stopped at the door at the mere mention of that. She knew that she wasn't as strong as the other away members especially Pyrrha and Weiss but still she wanted to help so she volunteered to be the combat medic despite knowing that the White Fang was also hunting down the away squad. She sighed again knowing how she quickly jumped through the ranks at such a young age making the way to where she was now. She thought about staying home and letting Penny return back to hers, ending the night rather peacefully, but then she thought about the beautiful view that she wanted to see along the river bank where the water was calm and the sky was clear to enough to see most of the stars.

"Sorry Penny, I promise I won't run into trouble!" As she took off into the night. Most of the villagers were indoors making the run towards the forest a lot easier and peaceful. She made her way through the tree line and over uprooted trees. The air was cool as it blew around her as she settled at the open aired space near the river. She found this spot a while back as she settled in Signal, since then she wanted to return as soon as the chance allowed it. She smiled as she took in the view, the lush green forest surrounding the calm river was already breathtaking enough with the stars glimmering above. She was about to sit near a patch of earth that was the closest to the river until something caught her eye. She noticed something upstream where the water was settling to it's calm state, something shiny as it glinted with the moonlight. She hesitantly made her way across to inspect the shiny object, when she got close enough she saw that it was a dagger caught in the mud underneath it. She was about to pick it up until she heard a loud splash over to her left, she looked over as was shocked at what see saw. A ebony haired women was unconscious along the bank with blood seeping from the wounds, without any hesitation Ruby jumped over to the other side of the bank and scooped up the injured woman. She pressed her head against her chest, sighing in relief when see heard a heartbeat. She dragged her our of the water and wrapped her up in the cloak that she wore.

'That should keep her from getting cold, but I need to bandage the wounds before she bleeds out'

That thought kept racing in her head as she made a mad dash back to her home, quickly avoiding all the trees and roots from hindering her from saving the injured woman. She made it through the village without any problems, it was late enough to the point where everyone stayed indoors while Ruby seemed to be the only one outside at the moment. She quickly opened the door to her cottage and shut the door just as fast, she gently settled the woman in the guest room and ran for her first-aid pouch. After grabbing all the necessary supplies she unwrapped the cloak from her and quickly noticed the cat ears present on her head.

'A Faunus? Way out here?'

She quickly focused again and began to remove the wet clothes that stuck onto the woman. Immediately she wiped the wounds with disinfecting wipes and cringed at the sight of the woman twisting and turning in pain. She pushed that thought to the side as she cleaned the wounds and removed an arrow head that was present in her back. She tightly wrapped the bandages around the wounds ensuring that it applied pressure. She sighed in relief as she finished up, she looked back at the unconscious Faunus in her guest room and silently shut the door as she exited.

'What am I doing? She's a Faunus, everyone knows that they hate humans and vise versa.'

She slumped against a nearby wall putting her head in her arms.

'It's doesn't matter, she was in need of assistance and I provided it. What was wrong with that?'

She thought again on how the villagers hated the Faunus, ever since the war the Faunus were destroying many villages and killing many innocent people in the process only to make a statement to the rest of the kingdoms that "they also have power," but she also heard about many Faunus refugees seeking an escort out of White Fang territory fearing the army itself. She looked back at the door where the Faunus was housed.

'Could she be a refugee? Maybe I'll get an answer when she wakes up.'

And with that final thought she retired back to her bedroom, without the slightest thought the woman was an experience killer.

* * *

"What do you mean that she's gone?!" Ilia yelled at the last remaining member of the unit.

"As we made our escape Douglas was shot with magic while Rean tried to assist Blake in her escape, but he was cut down just as well. I tried circling back but their archer already..." He didn't finish the thought as he stared towards the ground.

Ilia punched the nearest tree, fighting back the already forming tears in her eyes.

'Oum damnit! It wasn't suppose to end up like this.'

She silently screamed at herself until she calmed herself down. Blake was gone and there was nothing she could do about it. She wiped away the remaining tears then pulled out the parchment Blake had given to her prior,

"Get up Soran, we still have a job to fulfill." She looked back at the Faunus. "We still need to deliver the information to the White Fang, hopefully this would help us win this war."

"You're right Ilia, we'll do this for the captain if not nothing else." Soran stood up with a new found determination in his eyes.

"We'll do this for Blake."

* * *

Blake woke up with a massive headache as she felt as though her head would split at any moment, she caught the smell of hickory and flowers but couldn't tell where she was. She opened her eyes trying to adjust to the room's lighting as she tried to prop herself up.

'Where am I? Am I dead?'

Slightly terrified at the thought she pinched herself in the arm, waking herself up with the pain that came with it.

'Nope, still alive but that begs the question. Where am I.'

She was very confused when she examined the room that she was in, a small bed table to her left and a door to her far right. She noticed that one of her daggers was placed near the wall to her right and that she was covered up in sheets and bandages.

'Did the White Fang rescue me? All I remember was-'

Her train of thought was cut off as her ears heard someone approaching the door, she tried to make out who was coming but from what she can tell it was only one person and that she was alone. The door opened up and all she saw was a crimson haired girl walk through with a hat on her head.

 _A human girl_

Immediately Blake's reflexes kicked in, she jumped to her right quickly unsheathing the dagger and rushed the girl in front of her. The girl dropped the tray she was holding and was pinned against the wall with the dagger pressed against her throat. Terrified silver orbs looked into the amber eyes that were gazing back, the girl made no movements besides the unstable breathing as Blake kept her pinned to the wall. Slowly Blake was processing what was going on, who was this _human_ , why is she here, what's going on? She snapped back into reality as the girl in her clutches began to sob quietly, with single tears streaking down her face as she realized what was happening to her.

'Wait, did she- save me?"

Blake released her grasp on the girl as she stumbled back trying to figure out what was going on. The crimson haired girl stood there in shock until she slumped against the wall until she sat on the floor across from her. They both sat quietly for a while until the young girl broke the silence.

"Are you-," The girl stopped mid sentence while trying to think of a better way to phrase what she was about to say, "- a refugee by any chance?"

'A refugee? Does she mean tha-'

"Y-yes, I'm a refugee." Blake felt a little bad for lying to the young girl before her, although she did have the right to be cautious about her. She had almost killed a civilian, who saved her by the looks of it and yet she repaid that kindness with a blade to the throat. Her ears flattened at the thought of that, which didn't go unnoticed by the other girl in the room.

"H-h-hey it's okay, you were probably acting in self-defense." The girl stuttered as she tried to reassure the older woman.

Blake looked back at the crimson haired girl, already she was puzzled by her behavior towards her not to mention help her out in the first place.

"I-I'm sorry," That's all she muttered before she felt the world dragging her down, she almost hit the floor until she was caught by the girl who lead her back to the bed that she was resting on earlier.

"I knew it, you're not strong enough to be pulling stunts like that," Blake heard the younger girl mutter under her breath, "Just stay here and rest while I get you something to eat okay?"

Blake stared at her in confusion, as she sat herself up on the bed provided for her.

"If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"

The short girl turned around as she was finished picking up the mess the tray left behind, and with a big smile on her face she said, "I'm Ruby Rose, combat medic of the Atlas Army."


	2. The Two-Sided Coin

**To anyone that read the previous chapter unedited I am very sorry. I didn't know that it would post like that and I'm very sorry if you saw that. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's best that you don't know... sorry.**

Blake couldn't believe her ears, all four of them when she heard the girl mutter those exact words.

'I'm Ruby Rose, combat medic of the Atlas army.'

Those exact words kept on going through her head as she laid down on the bed staring at the ceiling. Breakfast was mostly quiet as Ruby left her breakfast on the table next to her, and the fact that it was going to take weeks for her to fully recover made her even more depressed.

'Great how am I supposed to do anything like this?'

She looked around for something to do, desperately trying to escape the boredom that was already settling in. She was about to get up from the bed until the crimson haired girl stepped back in carrying a small box in her hands. She hesitantly made her way towards the ebony haired girl as she left it by her bed and took a couple steps away to give her some room, curiously Blake opened the top part of the box and was greeted with the sight of books that almost made her drool. _Almost_.

"I'm sorry for dropping in so suddenly but as luck may have it, I'm needed elsewhere." Ruby huffed as she carried another box of books over to Blake, after she left it with the other box she pointed towards the door, "The bathroom is over to the left and the kitchen is over to the right past the closet."

Blake stared at the young girl in confusion for a while until she spoke back up a little faster than before.

"I'm sorry again but they want me out there on the field and I didn't want to leave you by yourself especially if you have nothing to do but lay in bed so I went upstairs and got a couple of books and bought enough groceries and stored them in the kitchen and-"

Blake held up her hand to stop the rambling crimsonette before holding up a book in the other, "I'm fine, thank you though."

She sighed in relief as she walked out the door, leaving the ebony haired woman alone with only books to keep her company.

Ruby went through her drawers and cabinet picking up medical supplies and went over to her room to pick up her weapon. She slung two quivers of arrows behind her back and her crafted bow. She looked over to her clothing rack picking up her black cloak with red lining inside, briefly looking over her muddy cloak remembering she used it to cover Blake. She silently promised herself that she would clean it when she gets back. She tied her cloak around her and flipped over the hood before making her way towards the door, before she could exit she heard Blake shout something over to her.

"Actually, do you mind if you leave me a pen with paper?!"

"Okay!" Ruby dashed back into her room quickly grabbing a stack of papers and a feather pen with an ink. She left the materials on the desk near Blake's bed before waving her goodbye and exiting the front door.

Blake kept her head to the wall listening to the young girl walk further and further away before making her way into Ruby's room.

'Until I fully recover, I'll gather as much information as I can.'

She looked over the maps she gathered from Ruby's room and pulled out the paper and pen, copying down all the locations of the camps and fortifications Atlas had set up.

* * *

The run across town wasn't pleasantly difficult but still a challenge with all the townspeople moving about. As she was passing by, she made a quick stop at a nearby bakery and bought a couple of biscuits.

'Can't go without the necessities.' She thought to herself as she bit into another biscuit. She went over to the wagons as she saw Penny waving over to her, she sat down at the back of the wagon as Penny went to pack additional supplies inspecting her backpack incase she left anything important behind. Satisfied she placed her bag behind her and leaned back staring into the sky.

"Sleeping on the job already?" Penny asked as she hopped on the wagon.

"Nah, but it would be nice to be there soon." She looked back towards the direction of her home, she really hoped that this mission was quick so that she can return to help the Faunus currently staying in her home.

'She can handle herself right? Oh who am I kidding, she lasted this long as a refugee she probably can last a couple of days.'

With that thought in mind she laid back against her bag and closed her eyes as she drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Ilia, Adam wants to speak with you." Soran walked stepped into the tent where the brown haired girl was staying in. She sighed a for moment before getting up from her cot and made her way towards the exit. They both made it back to camp a couple of hours ago, immediately greeted by their fellow brothers and sisters in arms before retiring to a tent to rest. She hesitantly made her way towards the command tent towards the center of camp, she knew how much Adam loved Blake _even though she didn't return the feeling back_ and was mentally preparing herself on Adam's reaction when she'll tell him the news. As she stepped into the tent she was taken aback by the presence of Adam and Sienna Khan, the leader of the White Fang, but also the appearance of Ghira Belladonna, Blake's father.

'Great, as if things cannot get any worse.'

"We already drove back General Lagune's forces from the eastern border and- oh Ilia, it's good to see you." Adam turned and beckoned her as everyone in the room turned towards her.

'I take that back, it just got worse.'

"Miss Amitola, it's good to see you." Sienna greeted her, she replied with a small bow, "Tell me, was the operation a success?"

She paused for a moment as the gaze on her grew by the second, she looked towards the ground for a moment until she faced them with a sadden look present in her eyes.

"The first operation was a success but the second-" Her voice trailed off as she spoke, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm herself before continuing, "-we failed in assassinating King Ironwood and- we lost Douglas Wiens, Rean Kasibhatla, and- and B-Blake Belladonna ma'am."

The room got very quiet, with tension in the air. Ghira was the first to make a move as he quietly excused himself from the rest and exited the tent. Adam had a furious look plastered on his face as he turned back towards the war map and Sienna was the only one who seemed unfazed but the look in her eyes betrayed that thought. Soon after Sienna placed her hand on her shoulder giving her a reassuring smile.

"It's not your fault Ilia, at least we still have you and Soran-"

"What?! At the cost of the rest of the team?! And Blake no less?!" Adam yelled from across the tent, slamming the table with both his hands shocking the rest of the Faunus inside. "Not only did we lose most of the elites but also the intelligent agents from that squad as well!"

Ilia flinched at the mention of that, she knew that their squad was one of the best for convert ops in the White Fang and with the loss of most of the squadron it crippled the White Fang immensely.

"Adam! I do not appreciate the sudden outbursts in the command tent." Sienna snarled at him, "They went and did their jobs to the best of their abilities. You have no right in saying that they sacrificed one another to save themselves!"

"And yet look at where we are now, Blake and the others are dead an-"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone's head turned towards the new speaker, Ghira had entered the tent during their little shoutouts with a very displeased look on his face, "I will not have anyone else discuss about my daughter at this moment."

Only Sienna was the one who looked at Ghira in the eyes while everyone else had a somewhat interest in the ground, Adam huffed before he turned and left the tent. Ilia stood there awkwardly until Ghira placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's alright Ilia, you did your best. Go on and get some rest."

She nodded in reply but before she left she quickly remembered something and pulled out the parchment from her pocket and handed it to Sienna who looked at her curiously.

"Before we failed in the second operation, we found some information regarding the _Red Reaper_."

Everyone in the room went silent, with Ghira being the first to recover from the initial shock.

"What kind of information?"

Ilia spread out the parchment and tried to remember what Blake had told her in the keep, "There's someone with information on them, a crimson headed medic who has the surname of Rose."

"Interesting, I'll send out spies at once." Sienna moved towards the officers in the far corner while Ghira made his way towards her.

"Thank you Ilia for bringing this to our attention."

"Not a problem sir." She responded as she left the tent.

Ghira watched her leave then slumped in a nearby chair, after a couple of minutes he sat there in silence silently weeping as he thought of his daughter once more.

* * *

The trip to the rally point took longer than expect, they left as the sun was rising but had arrived when the sun was about to set. Yang and Pyrrha both hopped off the wagon to stretch their stiff limbs as Nora began unpacking the supplies. Soon after Weiss started setting up the tents as Ruby and Penny had arrived as the camp. By the time they were finished it was already nightfall and the moon was barely exposed.

"It's good to see you again Ruby," Weiss spoke up after she placed her bag inside the tent.

"Likewise, soooo how's the castle?"

"Somewhat dull, everyone is usually getting prepared and there were more sentries stationed after what happened last night."

"Ooh do tell!" As she put on her secret weapon, the puppy look at Weiss.

"It's best that you don't know about it," Weiss looked away barely avoiding it's deadly gaze, "It's already resolved so you don't have to worry about it."

"Awww phooey," Ruby pouted until she felt her hood get pulled down over her eyes, "YAAANG!"

Ruby quickly removed her hood and turned towards her sister who was trying very hard not to laugh. "Yang, you know how much that irritates me!"

"Sorry sis, couldn't help it." Yang pulled her sister into one of her signature bearhugs while Ruby was desperately flailing her arms trying to escape.

"Looks like the gang's all here!" Nora shouted as she made her way towards the trio with Pyrrha in tow. Ruby finally separated her from her sister and quickly fixed her hood.

"It's been awhile Pyrrha, how are you and Jaune doing?" Ruby asked.

"We've been great Ruby, how have you been these past couple of days?"

"Very enjoyable, the scenery is lovely at Signal."

"So Rubes, did ya find someone special yet?" Yang looked at her with an eyebrow raised, soon afterwards everyone had stared at her waiting for an answer.

"Y-yang why do you always have to bring this up?!" Ruby quickly turned away from the group to hide her embarrassed face.

"Come on Rubes, you're the only one here who doesn't have a boyfriend."

"I already said that I wasn't interested in talking about boys or relationships Yang."

"Then who's the lucky girl?" Weiss asked, suddenly curious about the young crimsonette.

"Wha- Weiss?!" She was caught off guard by her question.

"Yeah! Who is it Ruby? Is it someone we know? Is it someone in Signal? OH is it Penny?!" Nora squealed, dying to know the answer.

"No, no and no. I already told you I'm not in a relationship nor looking for one." Ruby replied quickly.

"Alright everyone, I think we had our fun." Pyrrha quickly stopped the teasing. "We got orders from King Ironwood."

Everyone immediately stood to attention, even Ruby's flustered face was quickly replaced with a serious face.

"We've been ordered to take out a White Fang camp nearby, after the camp is eliminated we'll fire signal flares to alert the army standing by so that they can move over the border and into White Fang territory with the enemy knowing." Penny quickly briefed, "Everyone one is going to be equipped with a flare gun and two flares."

"We have fifthteen minutes before the operation starts, Yang and I are going to attack in the front, Weiss will provide support while Nora and Penny flanks them, Ruby you'll provide overwatch." Pyrrha added.

"Any questions?" Penny waited a moment before going on, "Okay see you in fifthteen minutes."

Ruby quickly made her way to her stuff, equipping her black and red leather armor and wore a leather brace on her left arm. She slung over the quivers on her back and took off her hat, quickly throwing over her hood over her head. She placed her hat on top of her bag and placed the flare gun in the holster on her belt. She grabbed her bow and her medical supplies as made her way towards the rest of the group. Everyone else sported steel armor and weapons, she felt out of place with them but Yang reassured her that everyone had their own preferences when it came to armor.

"Here Rubes, I know that you won't be on the front lines but still if you're even in trouble don't be hesitant to use this," Yang gave her a red flare and a belt with many colorful vials attached to it.

"I won't forget Yang," She took both of them, quickly strapping on the belt and placed the red flare in a small pouch.

Soon after they all waited for Penny by the tents, when she arrived everyone quickly left. Ruby was quickly dashing towards her assigned position but stopped momentarily as she reached for her pouch.

"Ah, I knew I was forgetting something." As she pulled out a bone-white grimm mask, quickly putting it on as she ran through the dark forest.

* * *

The night was calm under the full moon, a slight breeze blowing through the forest as they all quickly moved in the shadows. Ruby was perched up on a tree branch that overlooked the White Fang's camp, she easily spotted several guards moving about as the remainder went into the tents. She saw Yang and the rest move up along the side of the camp, where there were the least amount of guards stationed. She pulled an arrow from her quiver, notching it on the string while taking aim at one of the guards that were getting too close to their position. She let loose the arrow she held, silently whistling across the night sky sinking into the guard's neck. When the guard's body hit the ground, Ruby had launched another arrow, embedding itself into the head of the guard next to the previous one. Taking this chance the rest of the group charged from the forest instantly taking out the guards who were too focused on finding the archer.

Yang and Pyrrha charged out together instantly cutting apart the soldiers in front of them while Weiss was following up behind them chanting healing spells while firing icicles at the archers that started leaving their tents. Nora slammed her war-hammer against one of the charging Faunus, causing them to crash into one of their own tents with Penny following up behind her quickly slashing through the opposition. Ruby remained perched on the branch taking out soldiers that were hiding in their blind spots, she shot an arrow taking out the soldier that came up behind Weiss. She scanned the entire battlefield darting between each fighter to see if anyone needed assistance. She fired another shot directly into the chest of an archer behind Nora as she charged into a tent.

Ruby spotted the munitions tent off to the far side of the camp as she scanned the area once more, she pulled out a small vial with a red marking attached to it and opened up the cork. She reached into her quiver and dipped the arrow head in the vial. She notched the coated arrow and released, watching the trail of orange sparks fly across the dark sky eventually making contact with the munitions tent. At first there was a small orange light that appeared where the arrow had landed, soon after the entire tent blew up into a massive fire ball with burning debris scattering throughout the entire camp. Some of the tents were caught on fire, illuminating the area in a reddish-orange glow. Taking this chance, Yang and Nora charged into the heart of the camp easily destroying the ones who stood in their way while Weiss fell behind with Pyrrha taking out the ones who were trying to escape from the ongoing fight. Ruby relocated herself closer to the burning camp, staying hidden in the tree branches. She shot a couple more arrows until she heard something over to her left, she kept an arrow notched as she stayed still while closely listening.

'It's over to my left- no wait my right... unless-'

Ruby jumped backwards as two Faunus jumped from the shadows, one stabbing where she was earlier and the other stood behind her. She kept her aim at the one in front of her but listened to see if the one behind her made any movement. She quickly noticed the snake-like tongue as it was hanging outside of his mouth.

"Looks like it's our lucky catch, dear sister." The one in front hissed.

"Indeed, the infamous _Red Reaper_ dear brother." The one behind replied back all too eagerly.

Ruby never broke eye contact with the Faunus in front of her and didn't stop listening for the one behind until they both rushed her at the same time. She released the arrow then jumped down from the tree, breaking into a run into the dark forest with both of them in pursuit. She reached for another arrow only to feel the first quiver empty, silently cursing to herself she hid behind a tree and immediately swapped to her last quiver. She heard them pass the tree as was hiding at closely listening if they were circling back, satisfied she notched an arrow and coated it using the white marked vial. She listened in catching one of them conversing with the other and took aim towards their direction.

"Gah! It shouldn't be this hard to hunt someone in this forest, especially when we can see in the dark and they cannot!" The brother fumed.

"I know dear brother but the hunt isn't over yet! They're still in this forest and-"

Ruby released the arrow, watching it zip through the forest. It made a low whistle sound and couldn't be heard over the blood-curdling scream as it found it's target. She dashed back towards the camp, hoping that she could find Yang or Pyrrha to help. That thought was short-lived as she picked up footsteps behind her, she barely had time to bring up her bow to block the dagger that was tossed at her back.

"YOU WRETCHED BITCH!" The brother stepped from the tree's shadow, with his voice seeping with venom. "How could you?!"

Ruby looked behind him and saw where the arrow had hit, it was embedded deep into the sister's left arm and both looked very _angry_.

"When I done with you, your friends won't be able to recognize your pitiful body," The sister hissed.

She looked towards the direction of the camp, she was still too far to call for help. She turned towards the siblings and quickly pulled another arrow as they both charged her. She pulled out the blue vial and coated the arrowhead as she notched the arrow.

"Not this time!" The brother tossed his last dagger at her, making her step to the side to avoid it. They both jumped at her as she didn't have time to bring up her bow to shoot either one of them, they had a chance at killing the Red Demon themselves! They can finish them off right here, right now! At least what they'd hoped.

Ruby aimed down towards her feet as she jumped back, she released the arrow the moment she was airborne and rolled away the moment she hit the ground. The arrow made contact with the ground and erupted into ice shards that stuck out of the ground. The two were already in motion as the the ice spikes formed from the ground and both were impaled as they made contact. The brother was the first to push himself off the icy trap and looked around for the masked archer, after he couldn't locate them he looked at his sister who didn't make any attempt at freeing herself from the death trap.

"Melinna?" He cried, hoping that his sister was still conscious, "MELINNA?! Don't leave me, please don-"

His voice stopped as he tried to speak, he tried again only to hear the sound of gurgling and felt something warm coming out of his throat. He looked down to see and arrow embedded in his throat with blood seeping out, _his blood_. He looked up at the emotionless mask that glared right back at him. _Curse you devil_ was all that he could mutter as he fell forward motionless on the ground.

Ruby stared at the sight of the two bodies as she slung her bow on her back. She sighed as slowly made her way back. She tapped the quiver behind her, feeling the weight of the arrows rise and fall inside.

'17 huh'

She broke into a small jog towards the camp, deciding if she should head up the hill for high ground or stay on the same ground with everyone else. Her thoughts were cut off immediately as she heard something shuffle to her right, she was too slow to react as she saw something hurdling at her. Ruby brought up her arms to soften the impact as she was flung across the open field, dropping her bow in the process.

"Hmm, so this is the _Red Reaper_?" A low voice came from the figure looming from the shadows. "What a joke."

Ruby strained to keep her eyes open as she tried propping herself up. She saw a burly Faunus make his way from the shadows wearing a grimm mask that completely covered his face with a large sword on his back. She tapped her quiver again as she saw a couple arrows scattered along with her bow.

'6 arrows'

"If everyone knew if it was this easy to take out the monster that sent fear down every Faunus' back they would laugh." He chuckled as he raised a steel great sword.

She looked around for any sign of movement, if he came with somebody else they weren't around.

'It's just him, I can take him'

She brought her arms up and shifted her stance feeling something by her feet. She took a quick glance and saw a dagger, the one that the snake Faunus had tossed at her earlier. She pulled out an arrow and kept her guard up as the Faunus slowly closed in. Without warning he rushed her as he gotten close enough to cut off her escape swinging overhead. She ducked under the blade, slamming the arrow into his side before rolling away.

"Slippery bitch," He muttered as he pulled pulled the arrow.

She pulled out another arrow, taking quick glances at the dagger that sat nearby his feet. She charged at him as he swung towards her side, she slid on her knees as the blade went above her head. She lodged the arrow into his leg, then grabbed the dagger as she placed some space between them. They both stood at a distance from each other, waiting to see what the other would do. Eventually Ruby pulled out another arrow and charged directly at him wielding both weapons in each hand, he stood there raising his great sword up high. Ruby dashed to his right as he moved forward, but as she gotten close he feinted as he dropped his sword and grabbed her with his right hand.

"Stupid human." He chuckled to himself as he slammed Ruby against the ground. He raised her head up and slammed again, causing her to drop the dagger in her hand. He lifted her head once again only to cry out in pain, as she used her free hand to twist his wrist. Creating an opening she rammed the arrow into his forearm and twisted the shaft before dropkicking him, knocking him further away. She withdrew a yellow vial from her belt and an arrow as she charged him as he was stumbling backwards. He quickly regained his footing and slashed overhead as he charged forward. She spun on her heel and twirled past the blade, narrowly avoiding the attack and rolled past him. When she got up she spun and tossed the vial at him as he turned to face her, just as he was about to block it she tossed the arrow directly at the vial shattering it with it's contents covering the Faunus. Ruby used this opportunity to kick up the dagger and grabbed it while pulling out another arrow, she darted to his left using his sword to obscure his view. She rammed the arrow into his other leg and kicked off of him as the vial contents started sparking. Without warning sparks erupted from the shattered vial, shocking him as Ruby pulled out the last arrow in her quiver. The moment the lightning stopped she slammed the arrow down onto his shoulder and brought up the dagger, but he the caught blade before it made contact with his chest. Even in his weakened state he kept the blade from moving an inch, she struggled for a bit before she kneed the hilt of the dagger, propelling it into his chest. He stumbled back from the impact and dropped his great sword but still remained on his feet. He coughed up blood as it spilled from the slit in his mask but stayed conscious as he pulled the dagger from his chest, tossing it into the woods behind him. In one last attempt he charged at Ruby, ignoring all the pain that she had caused. She stepped to his left and spun kicked him off his feet. When he landed she quickly pinned his arms using her left hand and right leg. She reached for her belt and pulled out her flare gun and aimed it at his head, quickly pulling back the hammer.

He stared at the emotionless mask before him and whispered to himself, "Glory to th-"

The rest was drowned out by the loud cracking sound as a fiery red light engulfed his last sight.

* * *

Yang glanced towards the trees, searching for the familiar red color that her sister always wore. With no avail she returned back to the group, trying to stop herself from running out to look for Ruby. They successfully took over the camp, eliminating all White Fang soldiers who were stationed there. She quickly made it back to everyone else, Weiss was clutching her shoulder and Nora had poorly bandaged her wounds.

"Any sign of Ruby?" Pyrrha asked when she noticed Yang returning. She shook her head in reply then sat down next to Weiss trying to comfort her.

"Where did you think she went?" Penny asked as she looked towards the forest for any signs of red.

"I don't know, did she get separated from us as we charged ahead?" Yang looked at them for answers.

"She couldn't have, she was providing overwatch for everyone else. If anything she should have the easiest time searching in the dark." Pyrrha sat down next to Nora, trying to reassure Yang.

"I know bu-" Their conversation was cut off as a loud cracking sound broke out from the forest, immediately Penny and Yang stood up in the direction of the disturbance.

"Was that-"

"Ruby's flare gun," Yang finished the thought, they both quickly ran into the forest in search for the crimsonette. Fear swept through Yang's mind as she tried imagining why her sister would fire her flare gun.

'Did she get ambushed? Is she injured? By Oum please let her be safe'

Both Penny and Yang arrived at a clearing where they spotted the red flare, resting inside of a Faunus' head. Yang located Ruby who had her hood thrown back and her mask off and made a beeline for her, wrapping her arms around her younger sister.

"Ruby! Thank Oum you're safe."

"Y-yang? Penny? What are you two doing here?" Ruby shot them a curious look.

"We all thought that you were in trouble, you were the only one missing after we cleared out the camp."

"Sorry, got held up on my end." She picked up the rest of the arrows that were scattered on the ground and slung her bow over her shoulder. "Was anyone injured?"

"Weiss got hit in the shoulder and Nora needs proper bandaging asap." Penny informed her.

Ruby nodded as she ran back towards the others leaving Yang and Penny behind.

"We should probably head back now Yang," Penny turned to follow Ruby but something tugged at her arm, "Yang?"

Penny looked at Yang and noticed that she her eyes were focused across the clearing where the body was. "Hey Penny, did we find the one in charge during the raid?"

"I do not recall, why?"

Yang suddenly rose from where she was and walked over to the corpse. She noticed that the body was covered in many arrows, a slash in the middle of his chest, and besides the metal canister that held the flare that was embedded into his face she saw many broken mask shards with that surrounded the crater left in his head.

"Never mind, thought that we missed him or something."

* * *

Never in her life did she have this much time to read, ever since the war began Blake barely had time to read, much less relax after missions or operations. Although she had a hard time getting around the cottage with all of her injuries she was pretty content with staying in her bed reading until the sun sets or when she needs to eat or take breaks. For the past day, she wrote everything that she thought was important onto a small piece of paper that was stored inside a small compartment in her sheathe. Afterwards she didn't know what to do besides stare at the ceiling, until she looked back towards the boxes of books that were beside her bed. When she picked up the first book, she didn't stop reading until she got hungry or decided to go to sleep. When she woke up the next morning she searched to see if the crimsonette had came back, when she couldn't find her she ate a quiet breakfast and went straight back to reading. She finished another and was about to reach for a new book but her ears shot up when she heard something at the door. She set the book down gently as she quietly made her way towards the door. When she got to the door, it opened up with a very familiar voice following behind it.

"Oh! What are you doing?! You're suppose to be in bed to recover."

"Sorry, just checking to see who was at the door." She replied, slowly shuffling back towards her room. She looked towards the crimson-haired girl as she was about to say something but quickly noticed the bandages on her cheeks and one wrapped around her head. "Wha- What happened to you?"

"You know, things-" She looked like she wanted to talk a bit more but stopped herself. Blake noticed but just before she asked, the young girl walked towards her room, quietly closing the door behind her. Blake stood there in silence, normally she'd appreciate the peacefulness that came with it but she felt off, like she had done something that caused Ruby to be uncomfortable around her. After standing there for a couple of minutes, she retired back to her room trying to ignore these thoughts in her mind.


	3. Breaking The Ice

Throughout her life, she rarely felt emotions. She felt some during her childhood, excitement, fear, doubt, and during her time in the White Fang she had to suppress even more of her feelings. However when Ruby returned during the week, she started noticing how much Ruby was avoid her every chance that she gets. Everytime Ruby finishes checking up on her condition, she would run off while making some excuse to get away from her. Everytime she did, she felt somewhat off as she felt something in her chest. She looked up from her book towards the crimsonette's room, thinking of a way to face the medic without making things even more awkward between them. She laid back into her bed while staring at the ceiling.

'Why is it this hard just to talk to her?'

She sighed as she blew out the candle, allowing darkness to replace the light that once illuminated the room. She threw the covers over her as she tried to drift to sleep.

'I'll try tomorrow'

* * *

"King Ironwood, the raid was a success." Winter saluted him as he entered the war room, "We successfully moved our troops over the border and in positioned them near Fort Castle."

He nodded in reply as he looked over the map, "Any news of the White Fang?"

Winter shook her head before continuing, "Ever since they pushed us back from the eastern border they haven't made a move ever since."

"We have gotten reports that the number of refugees had increased in the past couple of days." General Peach pointed towards an area of settlements near a river, "Shion, Higanbana, and Oniyuri have been experiencing an overpopulation crisis while the White Fang are pushing past the eastern border towards Castle Alsius."

"We need to make a move before they start organizing another attack." Winter added, "We can use the support from Vale to help us retake Fort Castle and the surrounding villages."

"And with the additional land, we can move some of the refugees into those villages." Ironwood looked pleased with the plan, "Winter, you're in command of the army taking over Fort Castle."

"Very well your majesty." Winter bowed as she left the room.

As Ironwood was about to leave the war room, General Peach had stopped him by putting her hand on his shoulder. "Your majesty, a word if you don't mind?"

"Very well, speak what's on your mind." He turned around and gave her his full attention.

"It's about _her_ , I think it would be wise if she did not participate in the raid." Peach looked very nervous about the discussion, "I've heard among the soldiers how much _tension_ she causes just by being near them, or even placed in the same battalion."

Ironwood looked at her trying to figure out a solution to this, it's true that whenever they call her into battle she causes unnecessary stress among the knights and guards. Most barely even go near her and can't focus completely when they're around her. He sighed as he recalled putting her into one of his scouting groups in the past, most of them barely escaped with their lives with her being the only one unscathed. She later reported that most of them weren't paying attention around them, thus causing many to lose their lives over small mistakes or not properly scanning the environment.

"So are you suggesting that we pull her out from the assault? Her skills are formidable and can be of great service on the battlefield." He replied.

"I'm more concerned about the wellbeing of the rest of the soldiers, not just one." She retorted.

Ironwood paused for a second, before confirming his decision, "Okay, if you're sure that this would boost the men then so be it."

"Thank you my lord." She turned and exited the war room, leaving the King to observe the map.

'What's your next move, Faunus'

* * *

Blake woke up later than usual, she stirred in her bed as the light brighten her room. She got up from her bed and washed herself in the bathroom before looking for Ruby. The crimsonette wasn't at the table as she ate a light breakfast nor was she in her own room when she checked. She was about to search the rest of the cottage until she heard an over familiar voice coming from outside. Blake looked out a nearby window for her, she spotted Ruby in her signature scarlet red cloak and her small white hat by the gate talking to one of the villagers. Even from a distance Blake barely picked up on their conversation.

"-you didn't have to Wanda."

"Just consider it as a thank you gift," Wanda gave Ruby a wrapped basket, then started walking back to the village, "I think I speak for everyone but thanks for all your help around Signal."

"It's no problem, say hi to your husband for me!" She waved her off then started making her way back to the cottage.

Blake made her way to the door and opened it just as Ruby was about to reach for the door.

"Oh, hey-"

"Can we talk Ruby?"

The crimsonette quickly silenced herself as she closed the door behind her. She then turned towards the ebony haired woman slightly nervous.

Blake took a deep breath before she continued, "Are you...uncomfor-"

"Ahh! I knew I forgot something! Ruby shouted as she bolted through the door and towards the village, Blake recoiled from the sudden clamor as she watched her leave through the front door.

"I'm sorry! I'll get back to you later!" Ruby shouted as she jumped over the gate, quickly disappearing out of sight.

Blake kept her eyes on her until she lost sight of her as she entered the village. She slumped on the nearest chair as she stared at the ceiling once more, trying to process all the emotions that she felt after that encounter. Angry? Sad? Confused, she just could find the right word to describe what she was feeling. She sighed as she stared at the doorway once more, muttering to herself,

"This is going to be a long day."

* * *

'Ohmyoumohmyoumohmyoum why did I run out like that?!'

Ruby ran through the village barely acknowledging her name that was being called out. She turned the corner and looked the direction of where her cottage was, she imagined the ebony-haired girl following her but quickly ignored the thought as she remembered that she was probably too injured to even run. She sighed as she slumped against the nearest wall with her head resting on her arms.

'Why am I such as idiot?'

She stayed like that for a while until she felt the wind pick up, she then her raised her head and stared towards the cloudy sky above trying to think of a way to face her without making things awkward or uncomfortable between the two. Should she play it off? Make up another excuse to cover up her breakdown? Or should she come out clean and tell her the truth. She sighed as she sat there undecided, she never felt like this before with any of her patients. She recalled that she assisted them with almost anything, even with the most trivial questions asked by both humans and Faunus alike. She stood up and slapped her face with both of her hands before she shook her head. She's smart enough to get into the army before the legal age, she's part of the special task force that was sent to Atlas as support, she's even became friends with the Ice Queen herself so why was this so hard for her to fac-

She kept her hand on the wall to support her from sinking again as she remembered something very important to her.

'Oh my Oum I don't even know her name'

She shook her head again as she tried to look confidant. She couldn't believe that she didn't even ask for her name or anything else. She sighed once more as she realized that she was getting nowhere. She remembered why she was out her in the first place then set out for the center of the village.

'Maybe I should buy her something as an apology.'

With that thought in mind she made her way towards the market place in a brisk pace.

* * *

"I've sent spies to Vale, Atlas, Mantle, and the mess they call a city Wind Pass and still no information on the damned crimson-haired medic!" Sienna fumed as she paced back and forth. "All I get from those spies are information that we already knew."

Ghira drew his eyes from the war map and towards Sienna, "Should I also send my operatives as well? I could send them into rural towns while your agents can focus on the main cities and ports, that way we can cover more ground."

Sienna stopped and looked directly at Ghira before answering, "If any of your spies find _any_ information on the medic, tell me right away."

Ghira nodded in reply as he focused back on the war map, overhearing Adam's report on the western border with one of his officers.

"-the advancement camp placed near the western border has been taken out by Atlas' army sir."

Adam kept his eyes on the report while remained in the conversation, "Any movement on the eastern border?"

"No sir."

"Alright then, the assault on Fort Sanctum will still continue as planned."

"Right away sir." Adam's officer saluted before leaving the tent.

"Are you sure that it is wise to attack right now? Especially after we lost many soldiers in the last raid?" Ghira glared at Adam.

"We can replace those men in a couple of weeks with the soldiers that we're training in Vacuo." Adam replied coldly.

"But why are we pressing into the eastern border without covering the west?"

"It's because-" Sienna joined in the conversation after discussing with one of her staff, "-If we control Fort Sanctum, we can control a couple of farming villages that can support our armies. In addition we can send soldiers from that point to flank any army on the western border."

"I see, and what if we fail in the assault on Sanctum?"

"Then we burn down those farming villages, if we can't get them then they won't either." Adam finished the thought.

"If I recall the villages were Signal and Kuchinashi correct?" Sienna asked as she glanced at the war map.

"Yes they are. they're far enough away from the castle to avoid patrols but close enough to send supplies or labor." Adam answered.

"Alright, I'll send spies to each of these villages to see if we can get a safe route towards Fort Sanctum," Ghira complied.

They both nodded in agreement as Sienna excused herself to retire for the night. Ghira was about to follow suit until Adam stopped him before he exited the tent.

"Don't think that I didn't notice the Belladonna," Adam muttered under his breath.

Ghira turned to face him with a blank face, "What are you implying Taurus?"

"You sending out additional spies to _assist_ Sienna, don't make me laugh. There's no way that _your_ clan is going to capture them." Adam chuckled before he continued, " Especially when my clan is going to catch them first."

"You surely are confident, and if you don't?"

"Oh don't worry, I will capture them." Adam passed him as he made his way towards the exit then turned around to deliver his threat, "Remember the pledges old man, the clan has rights to do whatever they want with their prey. And no other clans can do anything about it."

Ghira sighed the moment Adam left the tent, then he proceeded to head to his own tent to where is wife was waiting for him. He passed by most of his clan as he made his way through the camp. It's amazing how he actually considered Adam to be a fitting suitor for his daughter in the past, now he wasn't sure that Blake would even approve of the marriage regardless of how long they knew each other as children. He paused the moment he stood in front of his tent, realizing that he still hasn't mentioned about Blake's death. How long will he be able to keep the news from reaching her? It was only a matter of time before she'll figure it out, but at the same he didn't want to add more stress on his lover's mind. Finally he entered the tent where Kali immediately greeted him with a gentle hug.

"How was the council this time honey?"

He returned the embrace before answering her, "It wasn't as good as I'd imagined but still good."

"Do you think that we'll win this war? That all of us can live a normal life when this is over?"

"We'll win this war, for all the Faunus we'll win this war."

* * *

By the time Ruby was finished shopping the sun was beginning to set, emitting an orange haze in the sky above. She was dashing back to her cottage holding a couple of bags in both of her arms, passing other villagers on the way back.

'Alright just stick with the plan, give her the apology gift, listen to what she wanted to say, and keep calm before you suffer another mental breakdown'

She kept her pace until she was in sight of her cottage, even from where she was she spotted Amber eyes from the second story window adding to her nervousness. She began walking as she past the gate. She opened the door and closed it just as quickly, expecting the ebony haired Faunus to be waiting for her. When she looked around she couldn't find her at all. She made her way into the kitchen and dropped off the bags onto the kitchen counter, still looking out for the cat Faunus.

'I swore I saw her earlier, was it my imagination?'

She looked around once more before relaxing in the lounge. She plopped down onto the couch as she closed her eyes to unwind from the earlier trauma. Just as she laying down she heard muffled footsteps coming down from the stairs, she opened her eyes and turned towards the stairs only to see nothing.

"Must've been my imagination," She muttered.

"Hey Ruby, got a moment?" Blake snuck behind her, startling her in the process.

"Gah- oh hi, sorry about that." She tried to regain her composure after she shot up from the couch. She tried to sound as confident as possible, "Sooo what do you need?"

Blake stood there for a moment before answering, "Are you- do you- hate me?"

Ruby stared back with a blank expression on her face, trying to process what she said. When she didn't respond Blake picked up from where she stopped.

"It's just that, whenever you're finished with checking up on me you just- seem to avoid me like the plague." Her voice trailed off as she spoke. Blake stepped back from Ruby as she kept eye contact with the crimsonette. She couldn't stop herself from raising her voice, "Do you hate the Faunus?"

Ruby didn't hesitate to answer that remark, "No- no! I don't hate the Faunus at al-"

"Then what do you think of us then?!" Blake shouted, "Here you are harboring a Faunus in your own house yet you try to avoid it every time you get the chance to!"

Ruby shrunk back from the sudden outrage as Blake closed the distance between them. Before Ruby got to answer, there was a sudden knock on the door. Blake glared daggers at her but backed off so Ruby could answer the door. Once Ruby opened the door she was greeted by Penny who stood there in full armor.

"H-hi Penny, what's with the armor?" Ruby kept the door slightly open while sticking her head from the open space.

"I came over to inform you that I will be gone for a couple of weeks." Penny replied in her usual monotone voice.

"Wait where are you going?" She looked at her with a bewildered look.

"I'm being transferred over to Commander Schnee's regiment," Penny pulled out a letter for confirmation.

Ruby stared at the piece of paper in confusion, "Wait if you're being transferred, then why didn't I got a notice as well?!"

"Apparently it was King Ironwood's decision to have you sit on the sidelines this time."

Ruby glanced behind her for a second before facing the orange-haired knight again, "Well I guess it's for the best."

"Is there something wrong Ruby?"

"No- no, it's just I'm recently taking care of a new patient at the moment and I'll probably have my hands full."

"I see, I wish you good luck then."

"Likewise Penny, good luck." She said her farewell before she closed the door behind her. As she turned she noticed the irritated woman standing by the stairs. Trying to get out of the current situation she tried to head for the kitchen in a brisk pace.

Blake saw her trying to escape to a different room, she quickly made her way to the crimsonette. She cut off the younger girls escape by putting both her arms around her forcing Ruby to face her up close.

"You didn't answer the question _Ruby_ ," Blake muttered loud enough for her to hear.

Ruby stood there trembling, she was conflicted on how to evade this conversation.

'Should I answer? Should I tell the truth? Oum how am I put into this mess?'

She looked into the Amber eyes that kept glowering at her, adding to her nervousness that was already been growing. She exhaled for a moment before steeling herself to answer the angry woman in front of her.

"I don't hate the Faunus," She tried her best to sound confident, "And I don't hate you."

Blake raised an eyebrow as she kept her gaze on her, but still didn't utter a word.

"I'm _afraid_ of the White Fang and what they'll do to me," She broke eye contact with the Faunus but immediately turned back to face her as she realized what she said, "B-but I'm not saying that all Faunus are part of the White Fang and that some are very nice and helpful and some are against the war and are looking for peace while some just don't want to get involved and-"

Blake lifted her hand to silence her rambling before stepping away from the crimsonette. Ruby took a deep breath as she relaxed, "I'm sorry if I offended you during all those time."

"Blake."

Ruby looked up towards the Faunus with her eyebrow raised.

"My name's Blake." She looked away from Ruby, slightly embarrassed as she realized that she hasn't mentioned her name at all to the younger girl.

"Well B-Blake, I think it's getting late." Ruby tilted her head towards the kitchen, "Do you want to help with Dinner? I bought Salmon at the market."

Blake's ears shot up at the mention of fish and covered her mouth to hide the small amount of drool that formed. "S-sure, um- how much Salmon did you buy?"

* * *

Ghira was patiently waiting in his tent, tapping the table with his finger as he waited. As much as he wanted to send out his spies to other major cities he knew that he wouldn't get too much information as long as Sienna was closely watching his soldiers. Out of all the options he had, this was the only one that he can count on without raising suspicion.

"You wanted to see me boss?" A blonde Faunus entered the tent, closing the flap behind him with his tail.

"I have a mission for you, this operation is classified and only we know about this."

"I'm all ears sir."

"I'm sending you behind enemy lines, you're going to gather as much information on the _Red Reaper_ in these towns." Ghira handed him a small piece of paper. "You'll start at the town of Signal and make your way towards the western towns. I trust that you can do this without blowing your cover Wukong?"

"No problem, I'll get all the info you'll need." Sun replied.


	4. Calm Before The Storm

"Come on Blake! Just a little bit longer!" Ruby yelled behind her as she was a couple of paces ahead of the ebony-haired woman. Ruby was dressed in a black and red blouse with a matching skirt and cloak, she also brought her bow with her in case any animals would attack. Blake followed behind her wearing a black tunic with leather pants and boots.

"Why-did I- agree to- this?" Blake was trying to keep up with the energetic girl as she jogged along the river bank. A couple of days ago Ruby insisted on having her workout so that her muscles wouldn't be so weak after her recovery. Since then Ruby had the Cat Faunus run along the same river bank each day one time in the morning and one more in the evening. She eventually caught up to the crimsonette and took some time to catch her breath when she stopped.

"Tell- me again- why you keep on- increasing the dis- tance every time we run?" Blake said in between breaths.

"Be-cause," Ruby stated, "It'll help you get back into shape faster! Plus there's a place I want to show you but it's a bit far."

Blake sighed as she nodded, knowing that she couldn't get of the this situation. Although she hated these exercises, she knew that Ruby only suggested them to help her recover. After she caught her breath she turned towards the young girl. "Alright, should we keep going?"

Ruby nodded and was about to say something but stopped abruptly as her eyes drifted towards the tree line on the opposite side of the river. Blake stopped for a second to listen to what startled Ruby, she listened in and heard something or rather someone. Ruby drew her bow and aimed towards the tree line, Blake immediately searched the shadows for any movement or outline of what the intruder is. Her eyes settled on a figure hiding behind a tree that Ruby was aiming at.

"Come out right now!" Ruby shouted across the river, both of them kept their eyes on the figure seeing if they would run or confront them in a fight. It felt like the deadlock lasted for minutes until the unknown figure raised both of their hands up and walked away from the shadows.

"Listen I don't want any trouble," He said as he stepped into the clearing. He was wearing a grayish cloak over his head and most of his body. "I'm just lost."

Blake saw his eyes drift away from Ruby's and just as she was about to call him out for lying she noticed a very familiar monkey tail flailing behind him.

"Sun?" She shouted over, immediately getting the attention of both of them.

"B-Blake?!" Sun responded as he threw down his hood and made eye contact with the Cat Faunus. "Is it really you?!"

Ruby looked between the two, noticing the recognition in their eyes. She slung her bow over her shoulder before walking closer to Blake. They waited a couple of minutes for Sun to find a way across the river _without falling into it_ , Sun carefully eyed the younger girl before focusing on Blake.

"I can't believe it, everyone back at the camp thinks you're dead." Sun rubbed his eyes to see if this was real or not, "It's really you Blake."

"It's nice to see you too Sun." Blake replied, "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Oh you know, work and all that." Sun answered back before he turned towards the crimsonette, "Sooo, who's your friend?"

"This is-"

"I'm Ruby Rose, it's nice to see that Blake has friends out here. Especially since well, there aren't many people willing to talk to Faunus nowadays." Ruby muttered the last part but was certain that Blake heard that comment.

"Wait. Ruby _Rose_?" Sun looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "Are you uh, by any chance a-"

"She's a medic Sun," Blake finished the thought, realizing what he was trying to figure out. "She's actually the one who saved my life."

"Really?" He faced the crimsonette with his hand out, "Any friend of Blake's is a friend of mine- well maybe not a few."

Ruby took his hand and shook while keeping eye contact, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

After they separated they made their way towards the outskirts of Signal. Ruby had the group stop before they entered through the gate, carefully eying the guards on the top of the main gate.

"Damn, I thought we had a couple more minutes before the guards rotated." Ruby muttered under her breath, she turned towards Sun and took off her cloak, "Here, use this to cover your tail."

Sun looked at her curiously before taking the cloak and wearing it, Blake also looked at Ruby wondering why she wanted them to hide their Faunus traits. Before she got the chance to ask, Ruby fixed the hat on top of her head and signaled them to follow behind her. As they approached the gate the guard came down to investigate the trio, Ruby stopped him before he got a chance to ask by saying that they were with her in the army and showed her badge. The guard immediately backed off and opened the gate for them. The rest of the trip to Ruby's Cottage was in silence until Blake closed the door behind all of them.

"That was easier than I thought," Ruby walked over and took her cloak back from Sun, "Sorry about that, it's just faster to act that you're humans rather than spending hours at the gate as they try to see if you're part of the White Fang or something."

Both Sun and Blake chuckled uneasily at that remark. They looked at each other awkwardly as the crimsonette walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Blake, what did you tell her?" Sun kept his voice low so that Blake can only hear it.

"She thinks that we're both refugees," She whispered back, "I think it's best that we don't mention it to her."

"You know that we can't keep that a secret forever, eventually she'll figure it out."

Blake sighed at that response, "I know, but I'll tell her under better condi-"

Both of them jumped as the sudden crash in the kitchen, Blake was about to rush over until she saw the crimsonette stumble from the doorway.

"Um, soo- who wants to head to the tavern for tonight?" Ruby flashed them a nervous smile.

* * *

The camp was filled with tension as the knights rode their horses through it. Many of the soldiers were preparing themselves for the upcoming battle, some were even glancing over into the shadows with present fear in their eyes. Yang looked back at her party, they all seemed unfazed by the upcoming battle but their eyes showed concern for the soldiers around them. They all dismounted and strode towards the command tent, catching a couple of gazes as they moved through the campsite.

"It feels like everyone's holding their breath," Pyrrha whispered as more gazes fell upon them.

"Yeah, that or everyone's holding in their shi-" Nora was cut off by a small punch on her arm as Weiss glared at her. "What? It's true."

Weiss kept her glare until they were in front of the command tent. Out of everyone in their small party, Weiss was the one who was the most nervous of them all. Yang quickly noticed her girlfriend's behavior and immediately reassured her.

"Hey what's wrong Weiss? I haven't seen you this nervous since we last saw your father."

Weiss looked at Yang with a weak smile before continuing, "It's just, I haven't spoken to Winter in a very long time and the last time I did..."

Yang placed her hand on Weiss's shoulder and looked her in the eyes before interrupting, "We all know that it was Ruby's fault that last ball."

"-But still Yang, I haven't spoken to her after the _incident_ and I'm not sure if she's forgiven us about it." Weiss broke eye contact with Yang and stared at her feet. She didn't look up until she felt herself being caught in Yang's embrace.

"Come on princess, no one's going to criticize you for this." Yang held the embrace. They stayed in each other's arms for a moment until it was interrupted by a loud cough.

"Ahem! We still have to report to Commander Schnee before you two get frisky in the sheets." Nora reminded, instantly breaking up the two with Weiss having to fight off the blush that appeared on her face. It took a second for Weiss to compose herself and look completely calm.

"R-right, let's get this over with."

Everyone nodded as they entered the tent, the tent was somewhat spacious with a war map spread out in the middle of the tent with multiple pieces scattered on top of it. Winter was engaged in a conversation with one of her lieutenants but quickly dropped the discussion as she saw the small group approach.

"Weiss, it's good to see you again." Winter briefly examined everyone before turning to Yang, "Where's your younger sister?"

"She should be coming with Penny from Signal."

"That's odd, Penny arrived earlier but I didn't see your sister with her."

The small group looked at each other in confusion, it wasn't for a while until Pyrrha spoke up to break the awkward silence.

"What do you mean she wasn't with Penny?"

"Penny arrived alone, just a couple of hours before you." Winter sighed before resuming, "It's a shame, we could've used your sister's expertise on this attack."

"So what did you want to discuss about Commander?" Nora spoke up.

Winter stood up from her seat and went over to the war map, "I need you as the vanguard with the main force."

…

After the briefing, Winter excused them as she went back to planning. Yang and the others made their way towards their part of the camp.

"That went a lot smoother than I'd imagined," Nora was twirling her hammer in her hand as they passed another group of soldiers.

"I thought that we were going to sit on the sidelines like last time." Yang followed up.

"At least you got to use your weapons, I had to use a bow," Nora pouted.

"And whose fault was that?" Weiss glared at the orange-haired girl.

"Now now, save the fighting for when we do face the enemy." Pyrrha stepped between the white-haired girl and the orange-haired girl. "Besides, we can't overextend in this fight since we don't have Ruby as support. Right Yang? Yang?"

Pyrrha looked back to find the blonde but with no avail, she glanced around them to spot the brawler. Soon after everyone else followed suit, Weiss spotted her making her way towards one of the camps. Weiss and Nora ran over to her, they weren't too far when they heard Yang's shouts.

"-ke it back, right now Cardin."

He snorted before continuing, "Or what? You're going to discharge me? You're in a different army Xiao Long, I can say whatever I want about that little bitch you call your sister."

"Last warning Winchester, take. it. back." Yang's eyes were already red as they got closer to the two.

"You know I wonder how you put up with that beast, that monster hiding in plain sight you call your sister. Face it Xiao Long, your little _sister_ should just join the animals on the other side. Who knows maybe she'll fit in with that disgusting bunch."

No one saw the punch Yang threw as Cardin flew across the campsite. Yang slowly made her way to wear Cardin landed but was stopped by Penny as she stood in between them.

"Lieutenant Xiao Long stand down," Penny ordered in her usual monotone voice.

"Out of my way Penny, he need to pay for what he said."

"It's Colonel Penny and no, he'll get punished after we win this battle. For now go back to your tent and let Winter and I take care of this."

Yang looked at her before backing off, just as she was walking away Cardin stood up and shouted.

"Yeah that's right! Run away just like your fam-" He was immediately cut off by a rock hurled towards his face. Yang turned towards the direction of who threw the rock and was not surprised that Nora was the one who did it.

"What? He wouldn't shut up."

* * *

The trio arrived at a nearby tavern called The CrowBar, the place was nice and quiet as they entered. They were greeted by a female waitress with a wool headdress who led them to their table towards the corner of the room.

"It's great to see you again Ruby." She said as she passed out menus to Blake and Sun, "Would you like your usual?"

"Yes please Matilda." Ruby gestured towards the tall lady, "Blake, Sun, this is Matilda one of the first friends I made here in Signal."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Matilda did a small bow as she greeted, "I didn't know that you made friends with more Faunus Ruby."

Both Blake and Sun flinched at that remark, Blake kept her hand on her dagger's hilt while Ruby immediately shot up from her seat to reassure the both of them.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ruby turned towards the waitress with a pout, "Matilda don't scare them like that."

The taller woman hid her small grin, "What? It's not like we're all Faunus here."

"Ahem." Ruby faked a small cough.

"Oh right, not suppose to talk about it."

Blake looked at the waitress in confusion, "What do you mean by that?"

Matilda smiled at Blake before removing her headdress, revealing a small pair of fox ears from underneath. "It's rare to see another Faunus refugee this close to the border."

"Do you scare all your customers like that?" Sun set the menu down as he calmed down.

"Only Ruby's friends." She said while flashing a small wink. "Now then, what can I get you two?"

...

"Isn't weird that you're one of the only Faunus un this town?" Sun spoke up as soon as they received their food.

"Not at all! Although it was hard to make friends at the start, Ruby was actually my first friend here."

Amber and Blue eyes drifted towards the crimsonette who was too busy eating to notice their gazes.

"How did you two meet anyway?" Blake asked as she turned back to face Matilda.

"Oh, it wasn't that special. We both met each other when a couple of humans were harassing me, they were tossing rocks, calling me names, and even to go so far as to threaten me out on the streets. One day it got really bad when a group of them came over and started assaulting me, I looked around for help for anything really but no one helped but watched and laughed at the sight."

Blake saw the folds in her headdress fall as Matilda turned away from them.

"But a young girl ran out from the crowd and stood in between them and just shouted at them, they told her to move or that they'll also harm her too." She wiped away the tear that formed around her eye, "But she stayed and fought them off, once the fighting was over she came up to me covered in cuts and bruises and said, are you okay?"

Matilda stood there wiping away the remaining tears on her face while Sun glanced at the crimsonette who was immediately interested at her feet. The moment was abruptly stopped as the owner called over Matilda, who quickly apologized and left to tend the rest of the customers.

"Huh, did know that little red here was a heroine, right Blake?" The monkey Faunus turned to face his friend only to be met with her staring absentmindedly towards the entrance. "Hey Blake? You okay?"

Blake snapped out of her trance and immediately faced him with an apologetic look, "Sorry, what was that?"

"I-it's nothing, don't worry about it." He gave her a small smile before returning to his meal. The rest of the meal was done in silence as both the ebony-haired Faunus and the crimsonette wouldn't speak after Matilda's story. Afterwards Ruby paid for the meal and they all said their farewells to the Faunus and the tavern owner, the sun was setting as the trio made their way towards the cottage. Just as the cottage was in sight Ruby halted and looked back towards the village, then just as quick she shouted to Blake.

"I'll be right back!" She pun around and ran right after she tossed a pair of keys at the cat Faunus. "Just show Sun his room until I get back!"

The two watched the crimsonette disappear into the village before entering the cottage. Blake locked the door behind her as Sun began to wander through each room, with Blake following closely behind. They practically explored the entire cottage until they both stopped at a locked door right next to Ruby's room, Sun tried opening it once but with no avail then looked at Blake with a pleading eyes in to which she responded with a sigh.

"Sun do I even want to know why you want to get into this room?"

"Come on Blake, when people lock their doors that means they're keeping something away from everyone else. She might keep some secrets from us too, you know because we're-"

"Don't finish that thought," She barely kept a snarl as she turned to face him, "What makes you think that she would keep it away regarding us?"

Sun quickly up his arms defensively before answering, :That's not what I meant! I mean there has to be a reason why she's so nice to every Faunus right? Not every human likes the Faunus so what makes her different?"

Blake kept her glare on the monkey Faunus but took in what he said, surely she was curious on why Ruby was different from the others but she didn't want to pry into her private life like that. Ruby didn't pry into her private life when she found her, so she wouldn't pry into hers.

"We are not going to break into that room Sun," Blake stated as she was about to head downstairs.

"Whatever your loss," He responded back as he quietly chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" She stopped to face the monkey Faunus only to see him dangling a pair of keys from his tail, she immediately stopped and checked her pockets feeling nothing. "Sun you better not-"

"Too late kitty cat," He said as he unlocked the room. Blake was about to stop him but she was too late as he stepped inside.

"Sun this isn't fun-" Her voice trailed off as she entered the room, unlike the rest of the cottage this room wasn't lit at all. The curtain kept the remaining sunlight from entering the dark room and from what Blake could see, this was the only door that led to this room. The room wasn't fairly big, it had a couple of bookcases loaded with various books and there was a small desk off to the side littered with beakers and vials that she couldn't recognize. "-ny"

"Hey check this out!" Sun was already by the desk holding a couple of colored beakers, closely inspecting the purple colored one. "What do you think these are?"

Blake walked over to where the monkey Faunus was and picked up one of the various colored vials, "It's... dust?"

"You're kidding me. She collects dust from her furniture and colors it?"

"No, not that kind of dust Sun." She picked up another vial to confirm her assumption, "It's elemental dust, they can only be found underground and is often mined and quarried."

Sun looked at her with wide eyes as he glanced between her and the vial he was holding, "You're kidding me... this thing is elemental dust?"

Blake nodded as she eyed a couple vials, all she remembered was that dust was very hard to come by, usually the royalty would have access to dust let alone use it. She looked at the different vials again, she knew the basic elements as well as anyone red for fire, blue for ice, white for wind, and green for earth. But there were a couple of different colored dust in different vials. She spotted purple, yellow, and one that was transparent.

"Maybe we should leave, we don't want Ruby to catch us in here looking through her stu-"

Both of them jumped at the sudden knocking at the door, Sun nearly dropped the vial in his hand while Blake tried to hear who was at the door.

"Blake! Sun! Can one of you open the door?" Ruby shouted as she knocked on the door.

Immediately both the Faunus sprung into action, Blake reorganized the dust vials as Sun relocked the door and waited for the cat Faunus to leave. Blake was about to bolt out the dark room until her eyes caught something in the back on the room. It was a white cloak hidden away in a small closet, even in the dark atmosphere it gave off a ghostly appearance.

"Blake hurry up!" The whisper broke her out of her thoughts as she sped past Sun who quietly closed the door behind her. Blake made her way down the stairs opening the door for the crimsonette who greeted her with a small smile.

"Hi Blake! Did you show Sun around?" Ruby stepped inside as Blake closed the door behind her.

"Yes, although it might take him some time to get used to the place. When we were younger we were always on the move and didn't settle down for long periods of time."

"Really? Well you're both allowed to stay here as long as you like."

Blake was taken aback by her statement, she knew that she was only staying here just so that she could fully recover from her injuries but never had she thought that she would stay afterwards.

'No, I still have a duty to fulfill. Even if I wanted to stay, Sun and I still need to return back to the White Fang.'

Once that thought crossed her mind she shook her head almost immediately.

'But what about Ruby? The White Fang are after her and we still didn't get any information from her.'

"Blake? Are you okay?" Ruby waved her hand back in forth in front of the ebony-haired girl, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I-I'm fine Ruby," She regained her composure as she kept her poker face.

The younger girl looked at her suspiciously before heading off to the kitchen, "If you say so..."

"Hey Ruby, do you know any Faunus Couriers by any chance?" The crimsonette was stopped by Sun before entering.

"Hm, I believe that there was one by the name of Tukson nearby the market place."

"Thanks!" He replied back as he jolted down the directions.

* * *

"Yang, explain yourself right now." Weiss kept her hands on her hips as she glared at Yang.

"What is there to explain Weiss? He insulted my sister and got what he deserved." Yang replied back without making eye contact with the white-haired girl.

"But why Yang? You know you could be court martial for this." Pyrrha spoke up.

"Yeah Yang, we all know you're short tempered and all but you usually don't beat the hell out of the person unless they pull on your hair or something." Nora joined in on the conversation.

Yang sighed in defeat as she laid back on her cot. She felt the three waiting for an answer as she turned away from them. "It's- it's because he was insulting Ruby."

"Yang we know that you care about your sister and all, but we've heard many people make jibes at her." Weiss commented.

"Also she was with us when we marched to the outskirts of Atlas, she didn't mind all the insults that were being thrown at her." Pyrrha followed up.

Yang sighed once more when she turned to face them, "I know Ruby more than anyone, she puts up a brave face every time she gets hurt both physically and mentally. Did she act differently afterwards?"

Weiss and Pyrrha both stopped to recall what the young medic had done afterwards.

"Did you at least see where she went?"

Both the redhead and white-haired girl shook their heads in response.

"She just seem to vanish until the battle started." Pyrrha answered after a while.

"Ruby is a very sensitive person at heart. Sure she can take a couple of cuts and bruises but she has a very bad habit of keeping things to herself feelings and all."

"Is that why you sent your sister to Signal?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, and I asked Penny to watch out for her too." Yang looked over to where the orange-haired girl was sitting at, "Speaking of which where is Ruby anyway?"

"King Ironwood ordered her to stay at Signal, as to why I do not know." Penny responded in her usual tone.

"Really? I was hoping to see my little sister again." Yang said with a small frown.

"You know after this battle we can go visit Signal to see your sister." Weiss suggested.

"I wouldn't mind seeing Ruby again, it's been days since the last time we saw each other." Pyrrha added, "Oh maybe we can ask her for some of her homemade sweets!"

"Yeah! Ruby makes the best cookies ever!" Nora followed up with a huge grin on her face.

"Alright it's settled then." Weiss looked at Yang with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks you guys, when this is all over I'll have Ruby make the best cookies for all of us."

"I'll hold it to your word." Pyrrha said with a small grin forming on her face.

"I can't wait!" Nora exclaimed as she was jumping up and down.

* * *

Ilia couldn't believe her eyes. She scanned the piece of paper in her hand for the tenth time before looking away.

'They found the crimson-haired medic'

That thought kept on going through her head as she made her way through the encampment. The letter was very vague on information but the only highlight of the letter was the discovery of the one they've been looking for. Sienna sent her to meet up with one of the couriers that came from Atlas territory. At first she was against the idea of going out, saying that it was trivial and that she had better things to do but now she was dashing back to the command tent, tightly holding on to the letter. When she barged in the tent, everyone turned their heads towards the sudden arrival.

"Ilia, back so soon?" Sienna asked as she noticed how out of breath she was.

"I-I brought great news." Ilia said in between breaths.

"Well lets hear it." Ghira joined in as he dropped his report on the war map.

"One of the scouts found the crimson-haired medic. They're at the eastern village Signal." The moment she uttered those words the whole tent went silent. Adam was the first to recover from the initial shock.

"Well what are we waiting for?! Lieutenant cancel the assault on Sanctum, we're attacking Signal by the next nightfall!" Adam ordered his underling and went back to the war map. Both Sienna and Ghira looked at each other with concern, they both knew that capturing the medic could provide information to deal with the _Red Reaper_ but Adam's eagerness seemed very troubling.

"Very well then, I'm sending a couple of soldiers to aid with the search." Sienna went over to the war map along side Adam, "Signal is next to a forest and a river, if we fail in capturing the medic at the village then our best bet is that they'll retreat into the forest."

Adam nodded in agreement before he turned to Ghira, "Belladonna we're going to need your men to assist in searching the village, your clan specializes in tracking and assassination so you'll be the most effective here."

"And what of your clan Taurus?" Ghira raised a brow as he glanced over the war map.

"My clan would be sweeping through the village along side yours, but we'll be providing a distraction as well. Just remember the pledges Belladonna."

"I remember, which ever clan captures the prey has rights to do whatever they please to it. Without the interference of other clans."

Adam smirked after the remark before turning towards Ilia, "Thank you for the news, you're dismissed."

Ilia nodded as she left the tent, things were turning in the White Fang for better or for worse.

* * *

"Ruby, explain to me why we're going at this time at night?" Blake kept a steady pace behind the young medic as they both jogged along the river bank.

"Because Blake," She strode a few steps ahead of the cat Faunus, "I want to show you something."

"Isn't it hard for you to see at this time of night?" Blake was well aware of how humans' eye sight during the night, although they can see with a little illumination Faunus' nocturnal eye sight was far superior. "Maybe I should lead."

"Tempting but you still would be able to find the spot I have in mind."

"Really," Blake muttered, "Careful root."

"What did you say?" Ruby turned her head around and her foot caught the root causing her to stumble.

"Told you so." Blake said with a smirk.

"Y-you distracted me." Ruby muttered as she faced ahead trying to hide her embarrassement, "We're almost there."

After a while both Ruby and Blake slowed down and strode along the bank. The two kept quiet until Ruby stopped all together staring ahead.

"Is there something wrong?" Blake began scanning through the forest then to where Ruby was looking at until the crimsonette spoke up.

"T-there's nothing wrong, it's just..." She paused for a moment as she looked towards the flowing river, "This was the place where I found you a while back."

"Yeah, it was..." Her response was weak as she kept her eyes on the running river, recalling the failed assassination that led to them meeting here in the first place.

Ruby caught on and tried to change the subject, "We're almost there, come on!"

Blake was about to question her until she felt herself being dragged through the dark forest by the crimsonette. She was surprised that Ruby was dashing through the treeline without crashing into anything. Minutes flew by as they both ran through the forest but it felt like seconds to Blake, she was mostly concentrated on the young girl's hand holding hers, how warm and soft it was clenched around her hand. After a while they both stopped at a clearing by the river bank, the trees around it provided the clearing cover from the rest of the world while the moonlight provided enough illumination to light up the entire area. It all felt like they were in their own little world, Blake took in the scenery and barely registering Ruby calling out to her.

"Beautiful huh?" The crimsonette said as she laid down in the grass looking straight up into the sky.

"It's- breathtaking," Blake said as she made her way to younger girl. "How did you even find this place?"

"I found this place a while back when I first arrived in Atlas, since then I usually come here to relax or just to organize my thoughts." She replied.

"Really? Does that explain why you make a lot of errands almost everyday?" Blake raised a brow as she sat next to the crimsonette.

The young girl quietly giggled at that remark before answering, "No, as much as I enjoy the view I usually go around and help the villagers out."

Blake hesitated before she decided to lay down next to the younger girl, staring absentmindedly towards the night sky. "Hey Ruby? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure Blake! What do you want to know?" She said as she fixed her hat on top of her head.

"Why are you so nice to us?" Blake paused before continuing, silently thanking the young girl for not interrupting, "Why are you so kind to the Faunus?"

Ruby looked away from the ebony-haired Faunus and towards the stars above, she didn't answer back immediately like she always would but instead she reached to touch the rim of her hat. "Blake, I-I never told you about my mother haven't I?"

"Can't say you have," Blake replied as she kept her eyes on the crimsonette.

"My mother was a kind person, she taught me that everyone should be treated the same regardless of their extra traits." She kept idly playing with her hat, "She kept on telling me to judge people on who they are, not what."

"Your mother sounded like a smart woman."

"She was," Her voice trailed off.

Even without the extra pair of ears she heard the young girl's sniffling. Instinctively her hand made it's way to Ruby's, giving a small squeeze as she held it. "I'm sorry for bringing it up Ruby."

The crimsonette wiped her face before looking at the older woman. "It-I'm fine, thank you Blake."

They both laid there in silence as time flew by, none dared to move from their spot as they enjoyed each others company. They watched the stars above and relished the peace and quiet that the forest had offered. It wasn't for a while until the silence was broken with both of them getting back up to return to the cottage. The walk back was calm and quiet, if Blake hadn't known any better she would've thought that there wasn't a war at all.

"Thank you Ruby," Was all she could've said as they were in sight of the cottage.

"What for?" Ruby cocked an eyebrow towards the taller Faunus.

"For showing me the view." She said as she walked side by side with the crimsonette.

"If you want, we can go back tomorrow?"

"I'd like that." She replied as they made it past the gate, both not realizing their hands were still intertwined as Ruby closed the door behind them.


	5. Battle On Two Fronts

Today was the day, they waited for this opportunity to deliver and it did. They waited for their forces to mobilize and to rearm before the assault. The Atlesian Army stood ready and waiting for this to come. The day they would lay siege to Fort Castle. Yang and the others stood ready on their horses at the front of the mighty army, waiting for the call that would start this blood bath. She glanced at the soldiers behind her, not surprised to see a few with fear present in their eyes. Yang looked back at her friends around her, steeling herself for what's about to come. Her grip on the reins tightened as she reached for her great sword with the other. Immediately the group of female knights equipped their weapons and prepared themselves for the upcoming attack. Their plan was simple, attack as the sun reached midday making sure the Faunus can't utilize their night vision so they can use magic and siege weapons against them. Right on cue the horns went off and the battle was underway. Yang kicked the sides of her horse as she charged in first before everyone ignoring the war cries and focused only at the enemy.

 _Ba-tum Ba-tum Ba-tum_

Yang only heard the horse shoes thumping as she closed the distance between her and the gate.

 _Ba-tum Ba-tum Ba-tum_

She was close enough to see the Faunus that were gathering outside the gate, already wielding her great sword getting ready to strike.

 _Ba-tum Ba-tum Ba-tum_

She already saw the Faunus trying to flee from the changing force, she was well in range of the enemy as she slashed through their rank. The Fangs' interception force was easily decimated as the Atlesian Army broke through. Yang kept charging forward barely registering her companions' call.

"Yang! Yang!" Weiss shouted behind her. "Slow down! You're too ahead of the main force!"

She didn't stop, she kept hacking and slashing those who were unfortunate to be in front of her blade. Her focus was disrupted by a sudden shout by a fellow cavalry soldier behind her.

"Archers! Get down!" With that cry came a volley of arrows that hailed down from the sky.

Yang held up her blade in a desperate attempt to protect herself from the projectiles, only to wait for nothing. She heard the whistling that came with the arrows vanish altogether and as she glanced to see where the arrows had went, she saw a thin barrier of ice that formed over her and the troops that caught them.

"Don't rush in you brute." Weiss muttered as she brought her horse up close to Yang's.

"Sorry princess, won't happen again." She said as she flashed her signature grin.

"Form up and regroup!" Pyrrha shouted as she rode next to the freezerburn couple, "We can't stop now, we still need to take the gate before we can relax. Yang are you still able to fight?"

Yang nodded in reply as she rode behind the redhead warrior.

"Units 1 to 3 prepare to charge the main gate! Units 5 to 6 ready the siege weapons!" Winter ordered.

Immediately soldiers began to move as another force mobilized. This time the redhead was at the front with both Yang and Weiss behind her.

"Get ready men! We need to clear the way for the siege towers!" Pyrrha shouted as she readied her spear and shield.

As the second horn went off the main force charged at full force, Yang kept her eyes forward as she glanced for any upcoming projectiles. Weiss followed behind the blonde already preparing a spell as they approached the main gate. They were well in range of their archers and some were engaged by the remaining ground forces. Yang glanced above as she heard the arrows whistling towards them, she looked at Weiss who didn't need an order to cast her spell. Another barrier formed to stop most of the arrows while the rest flew past the main army. Yang was already close to the entrance to where White Fang soldiers were exiting from. She brought up her sword and decapitated two that just came out. She dismounted and ran inside slashing through the soldiers that tried to stop her. The blonde warrior ran up the stairs that led to the battlements where she went encountered the Faunus archers. She immediately plunged her blade into the archer's chest and used it as a shield when she charged at the remaining foes. She knocked a couple soldiers off the battlements and tossed the body shield at the rest of them, she pulled out her great sword from the body and swung the blade at a wide overhead arc, splitting the Faunus attacker in half. She turned to face the enemies behind her as they came from the other battlements, but as she turned to face them icicles flashed past her some embedding into the attackers. She used the opportunity to deliver a another wide swing, quickly severing their heads off. She cleaned off the blood off her armor before she looked over the battlements at Weiss who gave a nod. Yang nodded back before she made her way towards the gate house. The door wasn't hard to break down nor was it to eliminate the guards who were stationed inside. She went to work on opening the gate, allowing the rest of the army to storm the castle. The blonde warrior drew her weapon at the sound of the open door behind her, immediately holstering it when she saw the two familiar orange-haired knights entering.

"What's the progress on the attack Penny?" Yang asked as she lowered her sword.

"We lost two towers out by the northern gate while we successfully taken the outer wall." Penny covered the door behind her with a barricade while Nora went to check the remaining entrances. "Commander Winter ordered us to hold this position until further notice, how long until the rest of the vanguard will arrive?"

"I'm not sure, I was the first to arrive but last I saw them was still outside the outer wall."

"Alright then, we stay put until they arrive. Simple as that." Nora said as she moved crate to cover the doorway.

Both knights nodded in reply as they begun to take their positions.

'Don't worry Yang, when this is all over you can see your baby sister again'

* * *

'How am I going to tell her?!'

Ruby laid in the clearing in her black cloak and with a small knapsack, a couple hours after the sun has set and she still hasn't figured out a way to tell Blake. She huffed as her grip on her hat tightened, she knew her secret was going to be figured out by accident or not. She huffed again as she looked towards the darkened sky above, hoping to see some kind of celestial being that could give her an answer to her problem. It's been weeks since Ruby had found Blake and since then she's been trying to keep it a secret from the Faunus, it didn't help that soon after Sun was also present. It's not like she hated them or anything but constantly checking to see if they're around corners gets pretty tiring after the thirtieth time in a week. She reluctantly let go of her hat as she tried to organize her thoughts, as much as she wanted to stop hiding her secret she was too terrified to think what would happen between her and the other two Faunus.

'Would they see me differently? What if it makes things awkward? Why can't this be so simple?!'

She laid there in silence as she looked for the stars above, slightly disappointed when she couldn't see anything but darkness. She sat straight up trying to find a way to distract herself until Blake arrived. Finding no such luck see stared towards the night sky once more, this time growing more confused than ever. Usually around this time of night the stars would be out, regardless of how many are present but would still reveal themselves but none were shown. She looked towards the night sky and thought it was moving.

'Clouds? It wasn't cloudy all day, and it didn't seem like there was a storm coming unless...'

Ruby didn't let that thought finish as she shot straight up. She looked towards the direction of the Signal and felt her blood go cold. Even in the dark forest she could still see faint traces of light coming from the village. She was about to make a beeline straight back until she remembered about Blake. She couldn't leave her alone in the forest without leaving her an explanation, but she couldn't just let Signal be attacked. Ruby hastily dropped her knapsack and her hat on top of it as she threw her black hood over her head. As expensive as it was to get the enchanted bag from Weiss, she knew that Blake would get the message of her whereabouts if she leaves them here. The trek back to Signal felt longer than any previous times she ran, she didn't stop as she flew past trees, roots, and all. She made it to the village outskirts and stopped at the sight before her. Half of Signal was in flames, she spotted villagers running towards the forest while some lay dead on the streets, and people running around Signal tossing torches and going after many of the fleeing villagers. As she got near the gate she can easily see the bone white grimm masks and the different uniforms they were wearing, all with the big red insignia on the back.

'The White Fang? Here?!'

She kept to the shadows as she tried to make her way towards her cottage. There's no way she can take on this many Fangs, without a weapon no less. She passed by many burning houses and stores, trying to resist the urge to run out and help any villagers that were still in the assault.

'Focus, you'll put their lives into more danger if you rush out'

That thought kept swirling around in her head as she darted from shadow to shadow. She was thankful for her wearing her black cloak instead of her red today. As she made it to her gate, she was somewhat surprised on how her house survived the attack. She ran inside and didn't stop until she was inside her room. Ruby pulled out her bow from the its stand and tried testing a shot. An audible crack was made as she pulled back the bowstring, she huffed as she attached her quivers to her sides. She knew it would've taken some damage after the last raid but she didn't expect the damage to be that severe. She attached her leather brace and sheathed a dagger on her belt. By the time she got ready she heard her door get smashed in. She rushed towards the commotion and stopped as she saw the intruders enter.

"There she is!" One of the them shouted. Two of them immediately rushed up the stairs, one with a sword the other with an axe. Just as one of them got in too close she opened and slammed the door in their face. They stumbled back and crashed into his friend that was following behind, Ruby used this opportunity to close in the distance and get a clean cut on both of them. Both bodies tumbled down the stairs, creating a small barricade between her and the remaining Faunus. The Faunus at the door took this chance to make his escape through the front door but by the time he bolted, she pulled out her bow and had an arrow notched as she jumped from the second story. He didn't make it past the gate as the arrow burrowed into the back of his skull. She looked towards the two that were still sprawled on the stairway, confirming if they're dead or not. She took a glance towards the locked room above before deciding that it would be a waste of time, she grabbed a couple of throwing knives as she went into the burning village.

* * *

"Have the soldiers rally up at the central courtyard. Units 2 and 4 get ready to move." Winter ordered as she made her way towards the infirmary. When she entered few of the soldiers tried to get up to salute but she kept them on their cots to recover, "Weiss, what's the condition on your friends?"

Weiss shot up from her seat next to Yang and gave a small bow before continuing, "Nora's wounded pretty bad, Penny and Yang are fit to return to the battlefield if you need to."

Winter glanced over the injured before making her decision, "No need, we have enough men to take the keep."

Just as she was about to leave she felt someone tugging at her sleeve, she wasn't surprised to see the one holding it was Yang herself. "Permission to speak commander?"

"Permission granted Xiao Long, although I have a feeling on what you want to ask for."

Yang sat up from her cot before continuing, "Can I join in on the assault on the keep?"

Weiss shot her a concern look, "Wha- Yang you were covered in cuts and were bleeding all over when we found you, not to mention Nora practically fought until she was knocked out."

Yang placed her hand on Weiss shoulder before reassuring her, "I'm fine, besides you need somebody to bust down the main door to get inside. Not to mention it'll take longer to set up a battering ram at this point."

Weiss wanted to protest but the argument died as soon as it came up. Yang looked towards Winter who gave a nod before leaving the tent.

Yang immediately got up from her cot and made her way towards the her tent where she left her most of her equipment at. Her cuts itch as she strapped on her metal plates and armor. She strapped her great sword and sheath on her back before making her way towards the main force. She saw many familiar faces as she arrived, she saw Pyrrha in her usual battle attire and Weiss both getting ready for the charge. She pulled out her enchanted great sword as stood armed, waiting for the familiar horn to send them off. When the horn was heard the entire legion shifted and charged at the entrance of the keep, Yang stayed behind a few soldiers with her great sword in hand. As they were nearing the gate, she didn't even flinch they fired another volley of arrows. Again Weiss created another barrier, this time spanning over the entire unit. Yang raised her blade as she felt her hair ignite, her sword illuminated in a similar fashion until it erupted into flames coating the entire blade. Everyone immediately stepped away from the blazing warrior as she brought the sword up and swung at the doors. A flaming arc followed the swing and decimated the entrance as it made contact, forming a large hole in the door. Pyrrha was the first to go through the opening that Yang made, easily dancing around the White Fang as she went further into the keep. Everyone followed behind the redhead's charge while Yang stayed where she was, propping herself up using her sword. She watched the assault until she felt her eyelids grow heavy, and in an instant passed out on her feet. Just before her body hit the floor, Weiss caught her lover by the shoulder and slowly carried her back to the camp. Weiss looked back towards the keep before retreating with the blonde warrior in tow.

'Don't worry Yang, we'll take this keep by the end of the day'

* * *

She ran through the burning buildings and past charred remains as she kept her bow in her hand. She rushed through a couple buildings, finding a couple survivors in the wreckage. Before she took off into the burning village, she gave them directions and routes to use in the forest to escape. She didn't like this at all, so far she hasn't run into any White Fang members. She gripped her bow tighter, she kept running until she reached the town square. Most of the villagers had evacuated already but she had to make sure that everyone that survived got out, broken glass crumbled her her boots as she looked into the ruined buildings. The fires had long lost its initial intensity but was still present to provide enough illumination and little smoke cover. Just as she was about to check the general wares store, she heard them coming before she can see them. Two figures jumped from the burning ruins, blocking Ruby's escape route as her back was towards the destroyed store.

"We found her," One of the figures said as the other closed the distance between them.

"Call for backup, I'll-" The other was cut off as a knife was lodged into their shoulder. His friend didn't have enough time to react as the second knife struck square into his chest. She used the opportunity to get some distance from the attackers and bolted down darken alleyways. She kept on running until the winding path led her to a clear opening with burnt rubble, leaving no cover for the young medic.

"Oum dammit." She muttered under her breath as she started running through the clearing, she can easily hear the White Fang closing in slowly surrounding her.

'Just a little further' The forest was in sight, maybe she can lose them in there if she had enough time. She stopped in her tracks and drew her bow while turning around. She caught a couple by surprise, letting loose a couple of arrows at them. Few Fangs fell to the ground as the rest behind them kept closing the distance between the crimsonette, she slung her bow on her back as she kept on running closer to the dark forest ahead.

'Almost there, almost there, almos-' Her train of thought stopped as she jumped to the side, barely avoiding a club that swung right above her previous position. After she recovered she pulled out her bow again and aimed towards any Faunus that came too close. She had plenty of arrows left, it was just a matter of how long her bow would. She kept retreating after letting loose an arrow, every shot she could feel the bow weakening.

'I bought enough time for the villagers, I just need to-' She felt it before it happened, her bow caved in as she pulled back her shot. Both the limbs snapped leaving only the grip in her left hand as the broken limbs and sting clattered on the cobblestone beneath her. As if it was on cue all the surrounding Fangs rushed her, she dropped the shattered grip and drew her dagger in her left while using a throwing knife in her right. She fended off most of them as she tried escaping from the attack, dodging most of their weapons and parrying those she couldn't. One got to close, just as he was about to swing his war axe she threw the back of her cloak in his face obscuring his view. He slashed through the fabric hitting nothing but the stone ground as he felt a slash across his side, Ruby used her cloak to obscure his view while hiding her own counterattack as she slashed through the torn cloak. Only the black hood remained as she tore off the remaining strands that were left on her back, she couldn't keep this up forever she only had two throwing knives left and she was running out of options. She took up her fighting stance until she saw someone running across the rooftops that were still stabile. The figure kept making its way towards the small crowd until it jumped and landed near the mob. Everyone had their eyes on the newcomer as some drew their weapons on them. Ruby couldn't see clearly past the mass of Fangs but instantly recognized the ears perched on top of their head.

'Blake? Why? Why is she here?' Blake wore some leather pads, covering her shoulders and her leggings still wielding her dagger in her hand. Before she could yell out two Faunus immediately tried to pounce on her, she kept them in a stalemate barely registering Blake's presence as she drew closer. Ruby kept her back to her as she tried to remain focused on the fight in front of her.

"B-Blake, what are you doing here?!" She shouted in between slashes and dodges, she drove one of the attackers away as the other kept on pursing her. She kicked the Faunus away as she backed up to where she remembered her friend was.

"Blake, you should've ran with the others." She said while keeping her eyes on any sudden movements, wondering why they stopped.

"..."

"Blake?"

"I'm sorry..."

With that her world went dark as she instinctively clutched the back of her head.

* * *

Blake caught the crimsonette before she fell face first onto the cobblestone. She didn't care about the eyes on her as she picked up Ruby in her arms, she was surprisingly light when she carried her. Most of the White Fang had holstered their weapons while one made his way through to Blake.

"Hand over the human girl."

Blake turned to face the one speaking to her, he was dressed in their normal uniform with the exception of the red lining on the edges and along his mask she could see the familiar crest on top. _It's Adam's clan, the Taurus_. Her grip on Ruby tightened as she glared at the soldier.

"No, our clan captured her before yours. And with the pledges that means-" Blake turned towards the speaker behind her, only to be greeted by a familiar monkey Faunus, "-your clan can't interfere at all." He said with a smirk present on his face.

The soldier paused for a moment before he started to curse to himself as he stormed off. Blake and Sun watched him retreat towards his clan before she turned and thanked Sun.

"It's no problem, although... what do you think is going to happen to Little Red here?" He said with a brow raised.

"I don't know Sun, for now I think we should wait until she wakes up. It'll be easier to return without someone carrying her the whole time"

The monkey Faunus nodded before he went to find the remaining Belladonnas in the village, Blake pulled what's left of the crimsonette's hood over her face before heading back to the cottage. As she made her way back through the ruined village she looked back at the young girl in her hands, silently praying that one day she could forgive her.


	6. The Aftermath

_Pain_

That's all she felt as she stared into the darkness. She looked around for anything in the everlasting void finding nothing but the sound of water dripping. She couldn't find the source of that sound but only that it was present.

"Hello?" She called out, her voice echoed in the darkness receiving no reply. She walked around this pitch black world, she didn't get very far as she heard the dripping sound getting louder and louder behind her. She hesitantly turned to face what was following her until she froze as a voice called out.

 _"Ru-by..."_ The voice was hoarse and weak but still made her blood freeze. Any efforts of trying to face the thing behind her were stopped as she wanted to run but her body didn't listen to her. She can slowly see the figure entering her view to the left of her. She closed her eyes to stop the image from showing, she waited for a moment as she tried to listen to see if it was still there. Nothing, she heard absolutely nothing from the drips of water to the erratic breathing of whatever that thing was. She fought herself for a moment before she hesitantly opened her eyes, seeing nothing but the cold void before. She took a breath as she tried to calm herself.

'It's okay, it's okay it's gone' She kept repeating to herself. It took a second to steel herself but just as she did she felt herself be jerked around completely to faced with the beast from before.

 _"Ru-n_ _Ruby,"_ The figure said gleaming back at her with dark grey eyes, as if the spark in them was dying. Ruby tried to tear away from them only for the surrounding darkness to hold her in place as she stared back at the shadowy monster. _"You_ _hav-_ _to_ _run."_

She tried, she so desperately tried to run. She tried to pry herself away as the shadows began to fade away, revealing an older woman with short crimson hair. She fought against the tears that began to form, closing her eyes to hide the sight before her.

 _"Ruby..."_

She felt her tears stream down her face as she opened her eyes wanting to forget the sight before her. It was her... it was Summer, covered in large cuts and blood was seeping from her head from two large gashes present.

"M-mom?" Was all she could choke out from her sorrow.

 _"It's_ _okay,_ _it's_ _okay_ _my_ _little_ _rose,"_ Summer's voice became heavily distorted as her entire being melted in front of the crimsonette. Ruby could do nothing but watch her mother melt into the growing puddle of blood beneath her, and just as she vanished she felt herself fall as if the shadowy clamps had let go. She screamed as she fell, being plunged into the everlasting darkness below while her name was being called from the shadows themselves.

 _"Ruby"_

'It was her fault'

 _"Ruby"_

'It was all her fault and she couldn't do anything about it'

"RUBY!"

...

The young crimsonette shot up from her bed immediately hitting her head with the person in front of them. She fell back into her bed as she clutched the spot where she crashed into.

"Ow..." She quietly muttered as she scanned the room that she was in. Her head felt like splitting as she tried to sit up straight, she quickly took notice of two people that were present in the room. One was leaning against the wall close to the door while the other was still clutching his head where they collided. It took her a moment to register that she was in her bedroom as she began to recognize the familiar surrounding.

"So you're finally awake." The one closest to the door spoke up. Ruby kept her eyes on the stranger, noticing the uniform and the short sword that was held at the side of his belt. She sat there in silence as she glanced around the room, there was no way out for her they probably have guards waiting at every possible exit. She can already hear one of the Fangs outside on her balcony.

"The silent type huh?" He spoke up again after a while before turning towards the ram Faunus in the room, "Mata I'm surprised you didn't knock her out earlier."

"Quiet you," He said as he brushed himself off, "I'll go inform Miss Belladonna, keep an eye on her will ya?"

He nodded as he watched the other Faunus step out, leaving the both of them in the quiet room. Another moment passed before the Faunus spoke up again.

"So what's your name?"

"..."

"Are ya mute? Deaf?"

She didn't answer but she shook her head in reply. He sighed in response just as the door opened with the monkey Faunus stepping in.

"Ruby, you're awake! Are- are you okay?" He asked hesitantly while keeping his distance.

"Sun I-" She stopped herself as the pain went away, she looked at the monkey Faunus before her then towards the Fang at the door before moving away from him.

'No, please don't tell me-'

"S-Sun? Are you part of the White Fang?"

"What?! No I- just- look are you okay Ruby?" He answered back hesitantly, not making eye contact with the younger girl.

She felt a pang in her chest as she stared at him in disbelief, she opened her mouth to speak but her voice didn't make a sound.

"Does that mean you and Blake are part of the White Fang this whole time?" She answered back quietly, as if she didn't want to believe it's true. When he didn't reply, her grip on her sheets tightened as she turned away. The room returned to it's silence once more, only for it to be broken by the sudden knocking at the door.

"Wukong, it's Rodentia. Miss Belladonna wants to speak with you." A male voice came from the door.

Sun looked at her before heading out the door quietly muttering, "I'm sorry."

Ruby watched the monkey Faunus leave with a another taking his place. The male that just entered had a scar covering his right eye that went up past his forehead. He had dark tan skin that went with his dark leather armor, he had a steel shoulder pad that bore a yellow insignia in the center.

"Your shift's over Dain, I can take over." He said. The other guard nodded as he stepped out as he took his place. She moved over to the side of the bed, where she felt her hood still over her head. She quickly noticed that she was still dressed as she was last night, she carefully ghosted over her belt for anything.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you, even though Miss Belladonna ordered us not to harm you I'll still knock you out if you tried anything." She froze as her eyes darted towards the Faunus in the room, he already had his hand on the grip of his short sword and he also had his eyes on her.

"Miss Belladonna?" She asked as her hands fell to her side. "Who's that?"

He quietly chuckled to himself as his posture relaxed against the door frame.

"You'll see…"

She felt uneasy about that statement, if this person had _this_ much authority over them then she should be threatening or at the very least strong. She slowly got out of her bed and made her way towards her drawers, she still felt his eyes on her as she pulled out a couple of tunics.

"What now?" She said as she set aside a black tunic.

"As of now we're waiting on the decision on what to do with _you_. I'm sure you'll get your answer soon enough."

"Uh huh, soon until then could you leave? I would rather not change in front of someone like _you_." She silently prayed that he would leave her alone.

He stood there hesitant at first before sighing, "Alright, but if you try an attempt to escape I putting you on constant watch."

She nodded as she waved him off, barely able to pick up his grumbling about women and how difficult they are. The moment he closed the door she immediately crept her way to one of her wardrobes. She pulled off her torn cloak for her signature red one, she threw her tattered cloak away and moved her hands against the wooden boards. She sighed in relief as she felt the button hidden away from prying eyes, she pressed the button and flinched when the wooden board clicked. She glanced towards the door and waited for the guard to show up. To her surprise he didn't show up, she went back to the hidden door and slid it open. It took her a second for her eyes to adjust to the dark.

'Thank Oum they didn't touch this room'

Her study was just as it was before. Everything was arranged just as she left it, including her dust experiments and…

'Summer's belongings'

She shook off her sadness as she went to work, carefully packing her dust in a small box and moved her mother's belongings to the hidden doorway. Just as she was finishing up moving all the boxes towards the wardrobe, her attention was drawn towards the sudden knocking at her door.

"Ruby are you finished yet?"

She rebounded from her initial shock as she closed the hidden door behind her.

"Just a second!" She yelled as she hastily dressed herself, she was thankful that had the time to change from her singed clothes as she donned a grayish tunic and leather breeches. The door opened a moment later with Blake stepping into the room, she closed the door behind her before she turned to face the crimsonette.

"Hey Ruby..." Blake said quietly as she kept her hands behind her.

" _Blake_ ," She harshly replied, "Or is that not your real name."

Blake internally flinched at that remark, but managed to keep her poker face. "My name _is_ Blake."

"What do you want?" She coldly replied, not even bothering to make eye contact.

Blake held out a small bag along with a very familiar hat to the crimsonette, Ruby eyes her suspiciously before taking them in her hands. "You left these out by the clearing yesterday. When I got there I- couldn't find you but found your belongings instead."

Ruby was taken aback by her, she remembered that she left it there to tell Blake that she came by but left in a hurry, but she didn't expect the Blake to go back her belongings.

"Thanks Blake…" She muttered as she laid the knapsack on her bed, "Um… Blake?"

The Faunus looked at her but didn't answer back.

"Why are you... 'helping' me?"

"..."

"Blak-"

"We leave in a couple of minutes, pack whatever you find essential." The ebony haired girl turned towards the exit but stopped just as she was about to leave, "If you want to survive, just stick with me and listen to what I say."

The crimsonette was about to retaliate but the words died in her mouth as Blake muttered something before the door closed.

"Please..."

...

Ruby fixed her hat as she threw over her hood, she kept her knapsack strapped to her side as she waited for Blake in her living room. She noticed that all the Fang members in her house had more of a black lining in their uniforms than red. She looked at he Fangs that were gathered outside and noticed the different colors that she'd never noticed before. A couple had blue while the majority were wearing red. A tap on the shoulder broke her out of her trace as she turned to face them, immediately relaxing as she saw it was Blake.

"You packed up?" Blake asked quietly as she glanced around them, slowly closing the distance between them until they were inched apart, "I'll explain everything once we get to Fort Shade."

She looked at her in confusion, but nodded as she followed the ebony-haired girl to the door. When they both stepped out she was very thankful that they didn't pay her belongings any attention as she passed several Fangs. Soon after the remaining Faunus returned, some holding large sacks while others holding weapons. She kept her hood up as she walked behind Blake but she caught some of their gossip as she continued on.

"-hat's what came here for? A little gir-"

"-mn Belladonnas, stealing our prey just under noses."

"That brat better be worth this trip."

She glanced around nervously as she kept a steady pace behind Blake, some stopped their discussions and glared at her. They eventually stopped as Blake was stopped by the same Faunus with the scar above his eye.

"Saber, are the men ready?" Blake addressed the other Faunus as he bowed slightly.

"We are ready to leave at your command, Miss Belladonna." He replied as he rose.

Blake nodded as she turned to face the Faunus who gathered around them, "We leave for Chagrin, Sun watch over the prisoner for first watch."

The monkey Faunus nodded in reply as he pulled out rope from one of the sacks. He carefully binded Ruby's wrists, leaving enough room to move but tight enough to keep them secured in place.

"Sorry Ruby, I'll take them off if you need to use it okay?"

She felt heat rise to her cheeks at the thought before she turned away and gazed at the ground.

"I-it's okay." She quietly muttered.

Soon after they began to march through the burned down village, heading towards the eastern border. Some began cheering as they passed by ruined houses, others kept stealing glances at her as she kept her head down. Reluctantly she turned towards her cottage for the last time not facing away until the trees obscured her view of her home. She turned back forward, without any doubts that it was the last time she would ever see her home.

* * *

"Round up the survivors, capture all the Fangs that tried to flee, and get word to King Ironwood!" Winter barked as she marched down the halls.

The Atlesian Army had successfully captured Fort Castle and were well underway of securing the surrounding territory and villages.

"Ma'am! Word from command." A courier ran past the moving carts before stopping behind Winter.

She turned around to face the man and replied in a cold tone, "Out with it, we're in the middle of an operation."

"M-ma'am his majesty wants you back at the kingdom." He spoke while keeping his head down.

"And why is that?" Winter responded coldly.

"He said that it was urgent, I-I'm sorry that's all that they informed me of."

"Very well, tell King Ironwood I'll depart soon enough." Winter turned to face the direction of the Vanguard tent before continuing, "And what of Vale's forces?"

"They are to return back to their homeland, King Ozpin had sent out the order to return."

"Things must be really desperate at Vale if he's pulling out his forces," Winter muttered to herself, "Alright, dismissed."

Without another word the courier bowed again before taking off towards the kingdom. Winter resumed her way towards Vale's tent, loudly clearing her throat to announce her presence to the group inside. As she entered, she quickly noticed that everyone was wearing leathers and donned a traveling cloak except for Penny.

"Winter," Weiss called out from her cot, "What do you need?"

"I was about to inform you that you're being recalled back to your kingdom but it looks as though you already got the message." Winter spoke in a more 'friendlier' tone than before.

"Wait, Ozpin's calling us back?" Yang raised a brow as she brushed her golden mane away from her face.

"Yes, a courier just informed me earlier. If you don't mind me asking but what were you all preparing for anyway?"

"We're going to visit Ruby!" Nora happily cheered, "We all said that we were going to visit after the battle too."

"I suppose now we can inform her that we're returning back to Vale as well when we see her." Pyrrha added.

All of them nodded in agreement as Winter stared at them in amusement.

"I wish you all a safe journey back then," Winter began stepping out of the tent, just before the flap closed behind her she heard her sister shout something back.

"And to you as well Winter!"

The older sister left the tent with a small smile on her face as she made her way back to her tent.

* * *

Blake kept glancing at Ruby from the corner of her eyes as they made their way through the forest. Just before they left Signal she's been cautious of the other clans, mainly the Taurus Clan. She already saw a couple of them stealing glances at the crimsonette and some towards her own men. It didn't help that Saber came to her later with information of gossip among the troops, some mentioning about _Adam's_ orders.

'Knowing him, he'll do anything to win over the Faunus'

She kept her eyes forward as they trekked through the forest, focusing on the road ahead. As they marched, her eyes were drawn to the moving river that split the forest into two. Her eyes followed the river upstream looking past the treeline and wildlife, thinking that she can see the clearing, even if it was for just a moment. She looked back and saw Ruby doing the same, she saw the sadness in her eyes as she peeled her eyes away. Crossing the river took little to no effort as they began to cross the eastern border, Blake took one last look back as the war party exited the forest.

'This is really happening huh? The day before we were enjoying ourselves and now?'

She was broken out of her trance as someone tapped her shoulder, she turned to face them and was greeted by a familiar blonde monkey Faunus.

"How are you holding up?" Sun asked.

She sighed before answering, "Honestly I don't know, what do you think is going to happen to Ruby?"

"Hopefully nothing does if we can do something about it."

They both slowly followed the rest of the Fangs, after a short while she thought she heard the monkey Faunus chuckle. She looked at him with a brow raised and when Sun realized it he threw both his arms up in defense.

"Sorry, sorry it just- it's really funny you know?"

"And why is that?" Her voice raised slightly higher than she intended.

"It's that our clan has been fighting for peace between the Faunus and Humans and that we've been attacking those who actually care for us." He said as he looked down towards the ground, with his tail dropping.

She sighed once more as her gaze also fell to the ground, "How did all of this happen?"

…

 **The Night Before…**

'What do I tell her? How do I tell her?'

Blake was making her way through the village towards the outskirts to the forest with Sun in tow. For the whole day she's been trying to figure out the best way to break it down to the young crimsonette but with no avail.

"You know we could just say we're supporting the White Fang and not with them?" Sun suggested.

"But we'll eventually have to return back to duty after all of this, what would happen if we face each other out on the field?" She slowed her pace so that the blonde could catch up.

"Okay… how about we just admit to it? She might be mad at us for a while but eventually she accept it right?"

"But what if she'll freak out or something? What if she calls the authorities on us and turn us over to the Atlesian Army?"

"If she would do that, then why didn't she do it already? I mean she took us in without any hesitation, hell she even saved your life and took in a random stranger without questions."

She stopped at the gate leading to the forest and turned to face the Faunus behind her. "I know she did all that, and I'm grateful for it but-"

"No more 'what ifs', seriously they starting to get annoying but in all honesty you should just get it over with. If you keep this up she'll figure it out sooner or later."

She sighed, "You're right, she'll figure it out eventually even if we try our best to keep it from her."

Sun smiled as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "Alright then, let's not keep her waiting."

She nodded in reply and turned towards the forest, she was a couple feet from entering when she heard Sun calling for her.

"Wait! I forgot to ask but, why did you wanted me to 'not' include you in the report?"

Blake spun around to him, "It's because I don't want them to send a rescue party here, knowing my father and the others. You remembered to write the notification at the bottom right?"

Sun raised his hand and recited, "Do not send any reinforcements as the agent and I are fishing for information."

She smiled at that comment as she turned towards the forest. She took a couple of steps before she heard the bells going off. Metal bells echoed throughout the village followed with scream and shouts.

"It's the White Fang! Run!"

Blake and Sun looked back towards the source of the shouting, they both ran back into the main square, bumping into a couple of townsman along the way. It didn't take long to see the smoke coming from the far side of the village. The sky darkened as the smoke began to cover the twilight sky above, panic villagers running towards the opposite gates, and the shouts and screams growing closer to the town square.

"Sun! I'm going to find Ruby, can you help the villagers get out?!" She shouted as she dashed towards the forest.

"No problem, just find her Blake!"

The surrounding environment turned into a blur as she ran past the gates and into the forest. The sky faded into darkness as the sun went down but the moon was blocked out from the smoke. Navigating through the darkened forest would've been difficult without any source of light. Blake ran past everything until she stood in the empty clearing, scanning around for the familiar shade of red. She looked around twice until her eyes fell upon a small hat laying on top of a knapsack. She cautiously picked up the hat and searched the surrounding area for the owner with no avail.

'The Fang didn't get this far did they? No think, she would still have her hat even if she was attacked but she wouldn't leave this here unless-'

She dropped the hat on the knapsack as she ran back towards Signal. She picked up her speed at the realization of where Ruby was. It wasn't long before she made it to the outskirts that overlooked the village. The fires that were present on the perimeter of Signal and spread towards the main center of town, narrowly avoiding the secluded residential area. Before she knew it she caught a couple figures running towards her from one of the gates. She kept her hand on the hilt of her dagger but ease up as she saw Sun and Matilda arriving closer.

"Blake! We got a problem!" Sun shouted.

"What is it?" She shouted back as she ran towards them.

"It's Ruby."

"I saw her in the village not to long ago, I think she still there." Matilda cried out, "Help her please!"

Blake felt her insides tightened as she nodded, "Sun come with me, I think we'll have a better chance at finding her together. Matilda get to safety, I don't want you to lose your life here."

Both Faunus nodded in reply as Blake ran towards the burning town. Everything that she remembered felt completely off, from the stalls that sold goods to the market place and it's tall towers. The fires already went through this part of town and everything was turned to ash or was left standing covered in char. She found a pair of leather armor among the ruins, quickly strapping the armor to herself. She found a stable stone tower to use, glancing throughout the rubble for the young medic.

'Where is she, where is she? Did she escape already? Is she still in town? Where could she-'

A loud clang echoed through the village, her eyes were immediately drawn to the sound and felt her blood run cold. What she saw was Ruby surrounded by the White Fang, prancing around dodging and deflecting each attack as if she was an elegant dancer moving fluently among the crowds. Blake snapped out of her trance as she dropped from the tower to the houses below. Using her momentum to traverse across the rooftops she quickly made it to the crowd of warriors. She jumped at the last stretch, landing near them. Some growled towards her arrival as others drew both their weapons and attention towards her. In response she drew her own and shouted.

"Stand down! As captain of the Elites, I order you to stand down!"

Almost immediately the surrounding soldiers holstered their blades, as they recognized the Faunus before them. She marched past them towards the crimsonette as they cleared the way before her. She heard Ruby's voice call out to her but she desperately tried to fight back her emotions as she kept her poker face. It felt like an eternity but also a moment as she stood next to her, she had her back towards her and didn't even bother to check her flank. She felt her insides tighten once more as she raised her dagger poised to strike.

"Blake?"

"I'm sorry..." Was all that she managed to choke out as she rammed the back of the hilt against her head.

...

"-lake? Blake?!"

She snapped out of her thoughts as the monkey Faunus kept on shouting.

"Jeez Blake, you have got to stop spacing out otherwise you'll be far behind everyone."

"S-sorry Sun," She said as she ran behind Sun towards the main party, "Hey Sun?"

"Yeah Blake?"

"What do you think is going to happen to Ruby?" She hesitantly asked.

"I don't know Blake, I wish I did."

She frowned at that statement, she wished she knew the answer to that question but at the same time scared if her answer wasn't truly it.


	7. The Other Side

Blake couldn't help but be concerned for the crimsonette as the journey went on. For the past couple of nights she could hear her thrashing around as she's asleep, and recently the effects are kicking in as bags began to form under the younger girl's eyes. As they crossed the border and entered the plains that separate the Kingdom of Vacuo from Mistral, the young medic hasn't said anything since they left Signal. Every opportunity that she had she would steal a glance towards Ruby and everytime she did she always would see the same thing, fear in those silver eyes of hers. Blake's attention drew back at to what was at hand, at a steady pace they were coming up on another village and if she was correct they would arrive before nightfall.

"What was the village's name again?" Blake turned towards Saber Rodentia, who fell back and matched her pace.

"I believe it was Burghley, Miss Belladonna." He replied.

"No need for formalities Saber, Blake is just fine."

"Very well but if I may have a word." He said as he glanced around towards the others.

She said nothing but nodded as he got closer.

He spoke loud enough only for her to hear, "I think we should part from the other clans as soon as we arrive at Burghley."

She raised a brow as she looked at him, "Why? What happened?"

"A couple of our warriors overheard the other clans talking about _her_ ," He said coldly. "Do you think that they'll make a move?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure. Have a couple soldiers keep an eye on them until we reach the town."

He nodded in reply before making his way back towards the others, she didn't move from her spot as she watched the younger girl once again. Sun accompanying Ruby but her face still hasn't changed from before, even with the monkey Faunus trying to strike up a conversation with her. She sighed as she turned towards the path ahead, silently hoping that the trip would be quick to Burghley.

…

She didn't know how long she had walked, everything felt like a blur as they past several forests and plains. The environment around her shifted from a forest to an open plains, the grass blew with the wind and the sight of trees disappeared along with the sun above. They arrived at a small rural village as the sun began to set, she didn't need to look up to know that most of the villagers were staring at her. She can hear the hushed whispers and the fear present in their voices as some tried to keep prying eyes from falling on her. They arrived as the sun began to set, she felt herself stumble forward as the bonds in her hands was pulled sharply.

"Get a move on scum." Her captor said with a growl.

She followed behind them through the heart of the village, she occasionally glanced around spotting some humans mixed among the local Faunus although the former outnumbered the latter. She pulled her hood down further hoping that it would cover her face from the crowd, she never liked being put on the spotlight to begin with.

Just as they were about to pass the town square she heard someone coming up behind her. He pushed past the guards and walked straight up to the crimsonette.

"Tsk, human scum like you should show your disgusting face to the rest of the world." He said as he reached out to pull on her hood.

…

"Ruby?" Was all she registered as she looked around, she didn't know what had happened but she was on top of the Faunus from before with his arm trapped between her bonded hands while she kept her foot against his shoulder. All of the surrounding guards had drew their weapons and pointed at her direction as the villagers watched in horror plastered on their faces.

"G-get off me you wrench!" The man below her shouted.

She turned to face him too quickly, as she turned she forgot about his arm twisting it in the process.

A loud snap echoed alongside a cry of pain, Ruby quickly stepped back untangling his broken arm from her bonds. Soon after she felt herself on the ground as several guards tackled her.

"You human bitch, you're going to pay for that." One of the guards said as they pressed down on her.

She didn't struggle as she stared absentmindedly towards the ground, soon afterwards she felt herself be propped up facing towards some of the Taurus Clan members. She felt the wind get knocked from her lungs as one of them delivered a right hook to her chest.

"Stand her up," He said as his voice remained cold.

Ruby was propped up again, this time starring towards the ground instead of at him.

"Look at me you human filth. I said look at me!" He raised his voice along with his hand. He was stopped as he heard a sword slip from its sheath along with the another sword pointing towards his throat.

"What are you doing you savage?" Saber kept his blade steady as he address the man before him, "Need I remind you that you cannot touch her?"

"B-but?!" Was all that he could stammer as Blake walked up behind him.

"Your services are no longer needed, as we agreed back at Signal you and Khan are to return back to the front lines as we escort the prisoner." Blake kept her monotone voice as she spoke. She watched the other Faunus scowl then took his leave with the rest of his clan following behind, leaving Blake and the rest of the Belladonna Clan. Ruby slumped to the nearest wall, using her arm as a support while facing Blake. The cat Faunus extended her hand out to the crimsonette, Ruby looked at the hand hesitantly before she brushed past it as she pushed herself off the wall.

"I can walk just fine by myself." She muttered.

Blake dropped her hand as she watched the younger girl follow Saber to the village tavern, just as she was about to follow she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Can I have a word Miss Belladonna?"

"Mata, what is it that you need?" Blake turned to face the goat Faunus.

"You saw it right?" He asked nervously while glancing around.

She nodded in reply, "I think everyone has."

…

Blake was watching from behind as she saw the male Faunus walk up to Ruby, she was about to call him off until she saw his hand pulling on her hood.

"Hey! What do you think you're-" She saw Saber approach the man but it was too late.

"What do you think I'm doi-" The male's speech was cut short as the air was knocked out from his lungs. Ruby brought her elbow down against his chest and followed it up with a knee. He hunched over in pain as Ruby got her bonds stuck along with his arm, she kicked his legs from under him and quickly placed her foot against his back. It happened so fast, no one knew what was going on until it was all over with Ruby over the Faunus with his arm sticking upright.

Blake stood there in awe, throughout her time over the border even with spending time with the young crimsonette she'd never seen Ruby even like this. Everyone else around her had the same reaction as no one dared to step forward towards the red clad girl. She hesitantly stood forward, keeping her face stoic as she approached her.

"Ruby?" She said trying to get the young girls attention.

…

"D-do you think it's safe to keep on transporting her?" He asked nervously.

"We have to regardless, just relax Mata we're spending the night here before we continue with the journey."

"If you say so boss." He slightly bowed before he went into the tavern.

Blake stood outside for a while as she gazed towards the shattered moon above, she sighed to herself as she stepped inside of the tavern.

'I hope she'll be alright'

When she entered she heard a couple of cheers going her way, she looked towards the comotion to see some of her clansmen were drinking and enjoying themselves in a couple of the booths. She spotted Sun among the crowd of soldiers who gestured her to sit with them.

"H-hey Blake! Come over!"

She rolled her eyes as she sat next to the monkey Faunus, she didn't need to guess that he was already drunk along with the other light weights. She ordered a Mistralian green as a waitress came over with several meads.

"Hey Sun, where's Ruby?" She said as she looked around in the booths for the familiar shade of red.

"Saber took her to her room," He slurred as he chugged another mead.

"Why? Did she upset the owner or something?"

"It's just that everyone's skeptical of what happened earlier, they almost refused to serve us but she promised them that she wouldn't cause trouble." He set down his mug and pointed towards the stairs.

"I feel bad for poor Saber, watching the prisoner rather than drinking this delicious mead." One of her fellow soldiers spoke up from across the table.

"It can't be helped, I never thought she could pull something like that." Another shouted from the opposite booth.

"Seriously, have you seen the look on Servi's face?! The man could've shitted himself with that stunt!"

The booths around them erupted in laughter as a Faunus stepped out from one of them. Blake just sat there swirling her drink as she constantly eyed the stairs, she snapped out of her thoughts as Sun jabbed her.

"Thinking about little red huh?" Sun said, at least what she was able to make out with his slurs.

"Easy to tell huh?" She said as a she took another sip.

"It's fine- Saber probably is just watching her, she won't do anything."

"I hope you're right Sun, we still have a job to finish when this is all over."

"I hear ya Blake, I hope that this was worth it."

* * *

"You know you can return to your friends right?" Ruby said through the door as she laid on the bed in the corner. "I mean that you're just wasting your time just by standing guard."

"I will not leave you unattended so that you'll escape while everyone's tipsy." Saber replied coldly as he leaned against the wall behind the door, "I will I know that you won't jump out the window as soon as I leave?"

"Because A, you'd probably hear it before I can make ten feet away. B every Faunus can hear it too and that they'll scream if they see me, and C I haven't been here in a while so I'll probably get lost before I try to escape."

He stood at attention at that remark, "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't follow, I mean you have more knowledge of your home turf than I do an-"

"No, I mean you haven't been here in awhile. You been to Vacuo?" He said as he stood up from the wall.

There was a long awkward silence between the two, Saber kept looking at the locked door as Ruby didn't reply after that statement. Saber was about to knock on the door until the crimsonette quietly spoke up.

"I-it's complicated Saber."

"It can't be that bad, were you raised here in Vacuo?"

"N-no, I was born somewhere else but my- mother took me here to Vacuo for a while. She kept on saying how important it is to learn about other people's cultures and eventually we started to move around the kingdoms."

He barely heard a sigh that came behind the door.

"-but after staying a while people started to chase us. We couldn't stay in one spot for too long and eventually we drifted across all the continents. Vacuo was the last place I saw my mother, I would be lying if I said I'm over her death but... never mind about that I'm just rambling." Her voice trailed off.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Don't be, I know you weren't responsible for her death and we aren't anywhere near it."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did your mother die?"

Another long pause grew between them, but it didn't last as long as the first.

"She- we were hunted." She gripped her sheets as she tried forcing the words to form in her mouth, "We were hunted by both Humans and Faunus alike. They caught us at Forever Fall Cliffs and thought we both had died."

"That must've been rough for you, how did you escape?"

"I jumped, no one expects an eight year old to survive a fall like that."

"You jumped? No one in their right minds would ever think of jumping off the Forever Fall Cliffs."

"Well my mind wasn't exactly stable at the moment. Besides the several broken ribs and cuts I survived and made it over the border."

"Faunus I can understand but Humans? Why were they involved?"

"..."

"Rub-"

"I don't want to talk about."

Saber stood outside the door, hesitant at unlocking the door.

"Is something wrong Saber?" A voice called out from behind him.

He turned to face the new speaker and stood to attention when he saw Blake.

"Nothing ma'am, although I may have overstepped my boundaries."

She raised a brow at him, "And what do you mean by that?"

Blake caught him glancing towards the door before facing her, "I tell you later, as for right now I think it's best that we leave her alone."

She nodded in agreement, "I can take your post for the night, why don't you relax with the others downstairs?"

"I'm not much of a drinker but sure I'll head down."

Blake took the keys from him and watched him walk towards the stairs, just before he went down completely he turned around towards her, "You care a lot about her huh."

She made eye contact him before continuing, "She saved my life, I owe her this much at least."

He gave a small smile before continuing down. Blake stood outside of the door contemplating to enter or not, after a while she decided to check up on Ruby at the very least to see if she was okay after what Saber had told her earlier. The room was quiet as she stepped in, the candles were already blown out and the window drape was blocking out the moonlight. Ruby was asleep on one of the beds with her hat on still, one of her hands were still clutching it as if she was scared to lose it as she slept. Even without the lack of light Blake easily made her way towards the spare bed next to the sleeping crimsonette, just as set her belongings off to the side her ears picked up something next to her.

"... don't go mom."

Blake stood to attention as she faced the crimsonette, Ruby was still fast asleep but up close she noticed the faint tear streak on her face. She got closer to the younger girl but stopped herself before she got too close. She noticed her damp bangs from where she stood, uncertain of how to help the younger girl. Eventually she sat next to the crimsonette in a nearby armchair and hummed a soft tune. The ebony haired girl recalled how many times her mother would help calm her down whenever she was younger. She virtually relaxed as she saw Ruby's breathing ease, she continued for a little longer as she made her way towards her bed. Soon after she threw the covers over herself and drifted away to sleep.

* * *

The sun has long went away with only the moon hanging in the dark sky, she sat at one of the many desks writing away with keeping a small candle near her for illumination. She sighed as her eyes wavered from the letter to her sleeping companion in the far corner of their shared room. It's been rough for them for the last couple of days from their return from Atlas. Her musing was halted by a small knock at the door, quiet enough not to disturb her friend but loud enough for her to hear. She made her way towards the door only to find turquoise eyes staring back at her.

"Hey Weiss, is Yang okay?" Nora kept her voice quiet, which slightly surprised the heiress as she wasn't known to be… well quiet.

"No, to be honest I don't think Pyrrha is either."

The orange haired girl sighed before she continued, "Yeah, I think Jaune was shocked when we brought the news back.

The warlock recalled the image of the blonde knight physically deflating when they came back from Signal, although it wasn't as bad as Yang when they first arrived at the charred town.

"Do you think Yang is going to be okay?" Nora said in between pauses, as if she was scared of offending her.

"To be honest, I have no idea. I've never seen her like this… so… defeated."

She recalled the trip to Signal, everyone was looking forward to seeing Ruby after all this time. Nora was practically bouncing up and down on the carriage while Yang and Pyrrha were leading the horses. She sat with the energetic hammer user in the back going over all of her dust crystals until the carriage was abruptly stopped.

Yang stopped the carriage right next to a couple of people who were telling them to go the other direction. At first she thought they were bandits but on closer inspection she noticed that they were villagers. Penny quickly realized that they were from Signal and as soon as they explained why they were out there she saw Yang's expression darken. The next couple of minutes turned into a blur as they hastily made their way to Signal, Yang barely said a word aside from the occasional grunt or nod and Nora's happy-go-lucky attitude disappeared. When they arrived Yang jumped off before the carriage stopped completely with the redheaded Amazon following behind her, Penny stood up and took in the sight of the destroyed town as Weiss and Nora searched around for any signs of life that was still present.

She walked past the burnt debris and the scattered wood cracked underneath her as she searched. Nora wasn't too far from the warlock when she heard the shouting, both the white haired and orange haired girl ran to the source, only to find Yang kneeling down clutching the remains of a very familiar bow.

"Y-yang that doesn't belong to who I think it does... does it?" Nora spoke up.

Yang's face was streaming with tears as she looked back towards her companions, she couldn't speak with the lump in her throat but nodded in reply. Weiss torn her eyes away from the sight, gazing at anything but the sight before her. Her eyes caught something in the distance, she slowly made her way towards a torn piece of fabric underneath some rubble. She carefully pulled out the damaged cloth and immediately felt her insides tightening up. She was holding a piece of a cloak, one side donned black while the other red. Weiss saw the hole in the middle along the edges were traces of blood, she felt her knees go weak at the sight as she held on to the tattered cloak tighter. She knew who it belonged to even with her trying to deny it.

"Weiss? Are you okay?"

Weiss shook her head as the orange haired knight broke her out of her trance, "S-sorry, what were you saying Nora?"

"Jeez, never took you for spacing out like that. What I said was you should probably get some sleep, Ozpin wants to speak with us in the morning."

"Right, thanks Nora." She watched the hammer user exit the door, closing it quietly on the way out. Weiss looked back towards the letter and sighed, she took the candle in hand and went over to the sleeping blonde. She sat next to Yang and blew out the light before wrapping her arms around her lover and falling asleep.

* * *

Silver eyes cracked open as the sun began to rise. Unlike most nights she was surprised that she had gotten actual sleep this time than before. She glanced around the room only to see Blake asleep on the nearby bed, she quietly got up from her bed and silently opened the door. She saw Blake's ear twitch at the sound but didn't wake up, Ruby sighed as she closed the door. Everything felt weird early in the morning, the sun had just started to rise and some of the villagers were active. She went down the flight of stairs and sat at the bar counter, she ignored all the stares thrown her way as she fixed the hat on top of her head. Now more than ever she didn't want to lose the last possession that her mother gave her before her passing. A cough broke her out of her trance as she saw the owner was right in front on her with his hand on his sheathed sword.

"I hope that you don't think you can escape just because everyone's hungover, the captain paid me to stop you if you were trying to leave."

Ruby flashed a small grin at the bear Faunus, "Don't worry, just came down here for something to eat."

He raised his brow before taking his hand off the sword, "Can't get food without money."

She took a couple of lien coins from her pocket and set them on the table. The owner took the coins and went to the kitchen, she kept on getting stares from the other patrons in the tavern while she patiently waited.

He later came back with two plates, one with toast and the other with eggs and bacon. She thanked him as he placed the dishes in front of her and dug in, she ate in peace until someone took the chair next to her and cleared his throat.

"Soo- you from Atlas?" He said as he ordered a shot.

She didn't answer nor acknowledge his presence as she continued to wolf down her food. He sighed as he downed the shot, soon after Ruby finished the plates and handed it back to the owner.

"Are you like this to all the girls you meet?" She asked as she faced him.

He shrugged, "Only to foreigners, besides you didn't answer my question earlier."

"Not from Atlas but did come from there if that's what you're implying."

"Ah, so you did come from Atlas." He said as he waved for another shot.

"Isn't it early to be drinking?" She said with a brow raised.

"It is but what happened last night I need it." He said as he downed another.

"What? Just rejected or something?" She heard a small chuckle come from the man next to her.

"No, it's just... lately there's been rumors floating about in Mistral and now recently Vacuo. I asked if you came from Atlas to know if the rumors were happening over thee too."

That caught her interest, "What kind of rumors we're talking about? An assassination attempt? A deadly plague sweeping the towns? Ooh Red Reaper spotting?"

"No, no, and no. Do you know about the creatures of Grimm?"

"I don't think anyone doesn't, creatures of the night that are black as shadows with bone masks with red eyes."

"Well, there are rumors arising saying that they spotted one. Some said that they saw it stare right at them and others showed claw marks or dead cattle and blamed it on them."

"But aren't they fictional creatures? You know, made up to scare children into behaving like the bogeyman?"

"Yeah I thought so too until I saw one, it felt unreal but at the same time I couldn't believe it." Another shot was passed to him.

"Hey don't get drunk on me yet, what happened?"

"I was out fishing by the lake when I heard something behind me, of course me being me I went to investigate and what I saw terrified me. There were small pools of black scattered with bones sticking out of them. Soon after claws rose and there I saw it, the infamous Grimm, the fairytales that scarred young children and superstitious men."

Ruby closely inspected the man, she now noticed the bags under his eyes and faint traces of red in his eyes.

"What? You interested in me now?"

She let out a small chortle, "Sorry, not my type. But thanks for the story."

Ruby stood up and threw a couple of lien on the table to the man before returning to her room. She quietly opened the door and closed it just as fast, she noticed that Blake was still asleep as she made her way towards her bed. She took one last look at the rising sun before slipping under the sheets closing her eyes and relaxing herself.

'Do they exist?'

 _I wonder how many other Fairy Tales exist? Have a good day/night ~SomeRandomFicWriter_


	8. Those Who Watch

_Phew I finished it! School's over and I get to relax over summer break, and as celebration I updated all my stories. Enjoy!_

"What do you mean we can't go?!"

A furious shout was heard throughout the entire castle. It came as a surprise to no one that the source of the noise was from Yang. Ozpin sat across from the blonde warrior, silently thankful for the distance between them.

"Miss Xiao Long, we are at a cross right now. If the conditions were more favorable I would've sent out search teams to Vacuo, but recent activities have us occupied."

"Then just send me out, you won't miss one soldier." Yang's eyes were already a dark shade of crimson.

"As much as you want to search for Ruby, we have more pressing matters at the moment."

"What could be more important than searching for my sister?!" Yang's hair glowed slightly as she gripped the longsword that was sheathed on her back.

"What he's trying to say is that we need everyone back at Vale just in case Haven decides to make a move on us, firecracker." Qrow leaned back against the wall behind the white haired man.

"I'm sorry Yang, but until we learn of Haven's intentions of joining the war or starting a new one we can't afford to send out anyone to look for Miss Rose."

…

The rest of the companions sat outside the main hall waiting for their blonde knight to emerge from the chambers. A couple chambermaids jumped from the sudden crash from inside as the rest stood unfazed and mostly unamused.

"You'd think that she would've stopped after the seventh time." Nora brought up quietly as she cleaned off her hammer.

"You can't blame her, if Ruby were your sister wouldn't you do the same?" Pyrrha replied.

Nora was about to answer back but let the words die in her throat.

Soon after the doors opened up and Yang stomped down the hall, not batting an eye towards the small fellowship. Weiss got up from her spot and started following behind her.

"I'll go make sure she doesn't tear down another wall." Weiss tailed the blonde knight until she found herself in one of the many gardens. Yang was in the center, sitting down and looking towards the sky above, not even acknowledging Weiss' presence. She walked over and sat right beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist and resting her head on Yang's shoulder.

"It's not fair…" Yang's voice was quiet as she rested her head on her arms, "Why her…"

"Yang…" She cooed as she pulled herself tighter, "We'll find her, she can handle herself-"

"And that's what led to this Weiss, I thought that she would too, back at Fort Castle, and now look where we are."

"She's tougher than you give her credit for, or did you forget that she nearly beat Pyrrha in a sparring match?"

Yang chuckled lightly as she recalled that day- all of them were still in battle school at that time. Although they started off on the wrong foot, Yang managed to convince the mage to attend the sparring match with her. Weiss, along with many other spectators, thought that this would be an easy victory for the redhead amazon and brushed off the smaller crimsonette as someone who was in over her head.

The blonde warrior still remembered everyone's faces when the fight began- everyone wore the same shocked expression all the way up until the trainer declared the match over. A smile crept onto Yang's face as she recalled all those memories, and she turned to Weiss with a small smile and returned the embrace.

"Thanks Weiss, I needed that."

"It was no problem, besides I wouldn't want Ruby to miss our wedding day when it happens."

Yang let out a small chuckle, "Who wouldn't be the best flower girl?"

The Freezerburn couple laughed in the quiet garden as the moon began to rise above them. Soon after, their companions joined them in the quiet night.

* * *

The scenery around them shifted as they marched on the stone road. Ruby looked up to see another village- this one surrounded by a stone wall with several towers at each corner and with archers mounted at the top. As they neared the gate, she noticed the banners hanging on the gater. They had the traditional White Fang symbol in the center, with the only noticeable difference being another symbol below it: a weird insignia colored in black and gold.

"We're here, welcome to Fort Shade." Saber said.

The gate opened up for them, several guards eying the hooded girl in disgust or in curiosity as they passed them and entered the city. "Uncomfortable" would be an understatement for what she was feeling right now, as most of the faunus were eyeing her as if she were an exotic animal on display during a parade. She quickened her pace until she was behind Blake, hoping that she could shield herself from some of the stares. Blake took notice of her behavior and shot glares at the wandering eyes, and immediately the curious crowd dispersed as they passed through the village. Blake glanced back towards the hooded girl and saw her visibly relax. The rest of the trip was done in silence as the group made their way to the castle gates. The castle stood on a hill overlooking the entire village and the land around it. Unlike the village, the guards stationed at the main gate wore metal armor, their shoulder pads displaying the same emblem as Saber's. The guards said nothing as they opened up the large doors and led the group into a large courtyard.

"This way." One of the guards grabbed the bonds from Sun and led Ruby away from the group. Blake was about to go after them but she was held back by Sun who shot her a sympathetic look.

"Not now," He mouthed to her as he turned his attention back towards the guards. One of the guards stood out from the rest- he wore a darker shade of armor with a dark yellow stripe running down his right arm.

"Miss Belladonna, it's a pleasure to see you again." He said with a small bow.

"At ease, Captain." She waited for him to rise before continuing, "What's the situation here in Shade?"

"Most of the village is on alert, and there were several sightings of soldiers coming from Haven. Some are also spreading rumors of creatures of the night around town."

"Haven? Didn't they sign a nonaggression pact with the three kingdoms?"

"Yes, but it seems that they are mobilizing their forces anyways."

"Well, that's unnerving. What's the White Fang going to do about it?"

"I don't know- until we get further orders we'll just have to sit back and wait for this whole thing to blow over."

…

The walk to the prison was much longer than the crimsonette realized. The guard had led her down a couple flights of stairs and through a long hallway with cells lined up to her left. Each of the cells she'd passed was worn down by time, the metal having rusted and some of the stone walls revealing cracks. Cobwebs hung in the corners of the rooms.

"Keep moving, girl." The guard said as he shoved her back with his spear.

Ruby said nothing as she walked through the corridor. She eventually found herself at the end, facing a cell bigger than the others. The guard moved over to the cell door and pushed it open. The door gave way with a loud screech.

"Get in."

Ruby walked past the guard but stopped as she felt her knapsack being tugged on from behind. She turned her head to face the guard who had his hand on her bag.

"Where do you think you're going wit-" She didn't give him a chance to finish as she punched him in the gut. She didn't say a word as she closed the door behind her and sat on the bed in the corner. The guard shot her a glare as she sat on the bed content with herself. She placed her bag on the bed, shooting a glare back at the armed man.

"What? Did you think I was going to run?" Ruby scoffed as she crossed her legs, "I'm not that stupid to run out into a stronghold with nothing but a bag."

He said nothing as he leveled his glare on her, but soon after he grumbled something before he made his way towards the exit. She watched him leave the chamber before her hands reached down towards her knapsack. She sighed in relief as she saw that the contents were still intact, and she picked out a couple dust vials and quickly inspected them for any cracks in the glass. Satisfied with her inspection, her gaze shifted towards the white folded cloak in the bag. She left the dust vials in the bag as she pulled out the cloak and an oddly shaped lump of metal. Unwrapped the cloak, she caught a quiver of bolts and a mask. She looked up to see if anyone else was in the corridor with her before she continued, flipping the mask- her mother's- over to examine its details. Her mother's had a red eyeshadow along the ends of the slits and was a pure white color, rather than the plain bone white of her own mask.

Her hand reached over to the oddly shaped metal, picking it up and thrusting it in front of her. The shaped metal folded out into a one handed crossbow. A metallic ring was connected to the barrel and hovered over the arrow track. The ring was attached to both of the limbs, but the one thing she could never understand was where the string was. She knew her mother was a mechanical genius for weaponry but she could never figure out her mother's work. Her finger trailed the arrow track along an indent in the center, running down all the way to the end of the track. She stopped as her finger rested on a slider. Ruby lightly pressed against it, noticing the limbs rotating along the ring. She pulled the slider all the way down until it rested at the back of the arrow track while the limbs rotated a complete 180°. Ruby squeezed the trigger, watching as the slider accelerated forward while the limbs spun back to their original place.

She folded back the weapon and stashed it in her knapsack, and she carefully stored her belongings underneath her bed and reached up for her hat. Without removing the cap from her head, she slipped out a piece of parchment from under it and reread the message.

Information is key, gather as much as you can before returning -Qrow

She folded the note and stored it back in her hat, recalling that last operation- the one in which she crossed the border and came back with information on the White Fang. It was a covert ops mission, a simple get-in-and-get-out without being spotted. Ruby got up from her bed and walked towards the door, glancing around the room and spotting an irrigation duct above.

'They have to get rid of excess rainwater somehow… and that means that I have an exit'

If she were small enough, she could use the storm drains to escape- this wouldn't be the first time that she'd have to. She walked back and laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling as she recalled to herself. She could use a couple of her mother's safe houses to hide from the White Fang but that could only last for so long. Maybe she could stay here for a while until an opportunity arose, but what would they do to her? She could pry for information as they interrogated her but that could complicate so many things if it didn't go the way she wanted.

She sighed as she turned in bed- she'd have time to think about this in the morning. For now she wanted to conserve her energy until the time came, and she took one last look around the cell before closing her eyes.

'At least the cell is more comfortable than the last one I was in'

* * *

No matter how many times he traveled across Remnant, he hated Vacuo with a passion. It was always hot and humid at every time of the year that wasn't winter and despite the heat, had a constant downpour in flashstorms. He was huddled in a cave, hiding from said storms while his squadron was sharpening their weapons. He pulled out a cigar from his pouch and a matchstick. Lighting the match, he brought his cigar up to the flame.

"Commander Roman, sir!" A voice called out from behind him.

The orange haired man turned to face one of his soldiers. He placed the cigar in his mouth before addressing the soldier. "What is it, Rime?"

"We have the beasts that the queen has delivered- when should we make our assault, sir?"

"Patience Rime, we've just gotten word that reinforcements have just arrived on our target. We'll gather more soldiers before we raid the castle."

"B-but we're supposed to report back to the queen as soon as possi-"

"And who's the one that she appointed to lead the assault? We're here for results, not for conquest… at least, not yet." He said as he blew out smoke.

"Yes sir, I'll inform the others." Rime said before he disappeared into the cave.

Roman watched the soldier leave and turned to watch outside the cave once more, blowing another puff of smoke as he gazed out into the distance. Even with the rainstorm he could still make out the silhouette of their target, a castle resting on top of a small hill overlooking a village. The once famed castle for giving birth to one of Vacuo's famous legendary heroes- Castle Shade.

* * *

Blake found herself gazing out from the tower, out into the dark and stormy night. She already wrote her report to the White Fang, explaining everything except for her affiliation with Ruby. The messenger had already left before the storm rolled in, and most of the soldiers that had accompanied her were in town celebrating and leaving the ebony haired girl at the castle with the guards. She found herself restless as she tried to sleep, her mind plagued by thoughts about the crimsonette. Her eyes were drawn towards the prison, hesitantly deciding if she should return to sleep or if she should leave. Blake donned a black nightgown and slippers as she stepped out into the dark halls. It didn't take long for the cat faunus to arrive at her destination.

Before she knew it, Blake found herself standing outside the door with her hand on the latch. She took a deep breath before opening up the door, the wood making a loud squeak as it was opened. The corridor was pitch black, with the exception of the moonlight that barely illuminated the room. She quietly made her way towards Ruby, her slippers making little to no sound while trekking across the stone floor. Blake was a couple feet away from Ruby's cell before the crimsonette turned in her bed and her silver eyes cracked open.

"Oh it's you Blake, thought it was the guard." Ruby sat up from her bed and fixed her hat before facing the ebony haired girl. "So what brings you here, huh?"

Blake leaned against the wall, amber eyes meeting silver, "I- came here to apologize to you."

"You came here… to apologize? A bit late if you ask me…" Ruby gestured to the cell that she was in.

"I know, but we didn't have much of a choice back in Signal." Her voice trailed off at the end.

"What do you mean, 'much of a choice'? It seemed as if you were in control of the situation back then." Ruby said coldly as she got up from the bed.

"It's not that simple, we were pressed for time an-"

"And what? Knock me out then burn down the village?"

"I didn't want to destroy Signal. All we wanted was you."

"Oh then explain to me why Signal was in flames when I arrived, why the White Fang were running amok with torches and killing the villagers like it was a celebration… why was I so important that you had to capture me." Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes as she finished her sentence.

"Ruby I-" Blake pushed herself off the wall and walked next to the cell bars, "-I never wanted any of that. Sun and I didn't think they would burn down the village, let alone even know that they were there."

The older girl stood facing the younger as silver eyes clashed with amber.

"I knocked you out to protect you from them."

"Them? What, you don't mean Atla-"

"No, not from Atlas but from the other clans."

Ruby raised a brow, "From the other clans? What, you expect me to-"

"I don't expect anything from you but to listen. Although it seems that even that was a waste of time." Blake turned back and walked towards the exit.

"Wait!" Ruby called out from the cell.

The ebony haired girl stopped and turned her head to face Ruby.

"What did you mean by 'protect'?"

Blake opened her mouth but quickly closed it, standing there for a moment before turning away and walking towards the exit.

"Hey, Blake! Blake!" Ruby yelled as she tried to reach out from the cell. Her cries did nothing to sway the cat faunus as Ruby slumped to the floor.

"Please don't go…" Ruby sobbed as her arm draped over the metal bar.

The ebony haired girl stopped in her tracks, peering over her shoulder towards the weeping girl. She felt her chest tighten at the sight as she ran back, but Ruby didn't even look up from the ground as Blake stood across from her. The taller girl said nothing as she crouched down on one knee.

"Blake, when you said protect… what did you mean by that?" Ruby's voice was quiet.

"Ruby, look at me." Blake asked softly.

The crimsonette wiped away her tears and lifted her head towards the ebony haired girl.

"Ruby," Her hand brushed away a strand of hair from Ruby's face, "Do you remember how you found me?"

The younger girl nodded, but said nothing.

"On that night you saved my life- a stranger, yet you offered to help regardless of me being a faunus. Since then you've been treating me with kindness and even offered me a place to stay."

Blake took a deep breath before she continued, "But all I've done was ruin the life you once had by bringing the war to you. I can never atone for my actions but I couldn't let someone like you suffer at the hands of the White Fang."

Tears streamed down Blake's face, a couple splashing against the ground. Ruby stood there in shock as she continued listening.

"When I said that it was to protect you, it was to prevent the other clans from torturing you, from making you suffer but- but-" Blake was cut off as she felt arms wrap around her waist.

Ruby extended her arms from within the cell and hugged Blake as well as she could with metal bars between them. Even with the cold metal, Blake could feel the warmth from the crimsonette.

"I-I'm sorry Blake, I thought- I thought…" Ruby whispered as tears of her own flowed down her face.

Blake stood there for a moment before returning the embrace, her left hand brushing against the back of Ruby's head. The crimsonette tensed up from the contact but relaxed just as quickly. The two stayed like that as minutes flew by, and after they separated they said their farewells and returned back to their beds. The tension between them faded away like the stars above when the sun rises.

 _I couldn't resist adding some ladybug fluff... that being said this week was so hectic with finals and all, I'm surprised that I finished all the chapters. In the meantime I hope you enjoy the updates!_

 _EDIT: I'm sorry! I would've uploaded this a lot sooner but I couldn't do much because I got food poisoning. I'll watch what I eat in the future, until then stay safe! ~_ _SRFW_


	9. Of Myths And Legends

Smoke was all she could see as she ran through the castle, fires emerging all around while fighting ensued outside. Corpses were scattered about in the halls, some faunus, some human, and some she couldn't identify herself. Screaming rang out among the battlements as swords clashed in the courtyard, and fires were present yet not enough to bring down the stone walls.

Blake ran through the corridors with a sword in one hand while covering her mouth with the other. She ran out onto the balcony and gazed at the chaos that was unfolding around her. Guards fought off human intruders while dealing with their creatures. Blake gripped the railing as she watched in horror.

'How could this happen'

Just as she was about to jump down to help fight off the invaders, a loud shrill made her clutch her ears. Everyone immediately clutched theirs as they searched for the source of the sound. Blake's gaze wandered over to the top of the main gate, and she felt her blood run cold at the sight before her.

A figure was perched on top of the gate, dressed in white and red. They were wearing a Grimm mask along with a white cloak that gave off a ghostly appearance in the moonlight. In their left hand was a metallic crossbow and in their right was a familiar sword, covered in red. Several weapons clattered to the ground as soldiers, both faunus and humans, ran from the sight.

Blake stood there with mixed feelings, a part of her wanting to run from the figure before her while the other wanting to stay and fight the devil that sent fear among the ranks of the White Fang. The one that is both equally revered and feared among the faunus.

"The _Red Reaper_ -" She whispered to herself, "-Why are you here?"

* * *

 **Hours Before The Confrontation...**

"-Uh huh, so they have camps along the Lanet river?" Saber asked as he jotted down notes on a piece of parchment.

"Yeah, and don't forget that they have faunus labor camps near Fort Dunbar." Ruby added.

Mata and Sun stood at the door in shock at the scene before them- Saber and Ruby, two of the scariest people in the whole castle, are just having a conversation as if it was normal.

"Hey Sun? Are you seeing this?" The goat faunus whispered to the blonde.

"Kinda hard not too, and since when were they both so friendly?" Sun whispered back.

"I don't know. Although I did see Saber visit the prison more often than usual."

"Really? That's odd, I thought he would guard Blake or something- you know it's his job and all."

"I mean it could get boring just standing outside a door constantly, Blake hasn't really gone out of the castle since she received the letter last week." Mata added.

"Yeah, and when she does leave the tower she's nowhere to be found."

"Is there a reason why you two are standing here?" A new voice startled the faunus in hiding. They both turned around and saw Blake standing before them.

She was wearing a black tunic along with leather breeches. Her belt and a black and purple sash was slung around her waist with a sword attached to her side.

"Y-yes ma'am, just making the rounds!" Mata said before he stepped out of the prison.

Sun scratched the back of his head while having a sheepish smile plastered on his face before he tried to make his way towards the door.

"You still haven't answered my question, Sun." Blake placed her hand on his shoulder and stopped him just as he was about to leave.

"U-um... uh-" Sweat beads were already forming on Sun's forehead as the ebony haired girl stared him down.

"Oh, hey Blake!" Ruby shouted from across the corridor. The taller girl glanced at her before letting out a huff a air.

"You're spared this time." Blake said as she let the monkey faunus go. Sun sighed in relief as he took off- Blake closed the door soon after and joined the two by the cell. "Is there a reason why you called me, Saber?"

"Yes there is, Ruby and I have been going over locations of Atlas Camps but I need confirmation in case she's been lying to me this whole time."

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm a terrible liar." Ruby said pouting.

"Just kidding, what I really need to ask you though is what our next move is."

Blake raised a brow, "What do you mean? All they've been ordering us to do was to extract information from Ruby with any means necessary, although I am thankful that they don't personally come and inspect us.

"Yeah, I bet that they thought you were going to torture me or something. Anything but this, though." Ruby said as gestured around them.

"That's not what I meant, we've been stationed here for a couple weeks already without any word from Command. You don't think that's strange?" Saber said.

"Now that you mention it, there were more rumors spreading throughout town about sightings at night." Blake recalled.

"Wait, sightings of what?" Ruby asked.

"Soldiers, some of the people are paranoid that Atlas is getting ready to attack as revenge for Si-" Blake paused and let out a small cough, "-for a village that the White Fang attacked."

Both Saber and Blake noticed Ruby's reaction- the smaller girl stared at the ground with a dull expression on her face. The room remained silent for a moment before the crimsonette spoke up again.

"Anything else?" Ruby's voice was quieter than before but her gaze didn't falter as she looked back at them.

"...There were other things that the villagers mentioned as well, and some even said that they saw Grimm in the forest as well."

"Grimm? That old superstition? You can't be serious about that." Saber said disbelieving.

"That's what all the guards have been telling me. It also doesn't help that most of the guards were sent down to the village to help ease the tension that's growing among the people."

"You think it's possible to ask the White Fang for more men?" Saber asked.

"I already sent the messenger a couple of days ago. We should've gotten a response by now."

"So we're by ourselves? What happens if we're attacked, then?" Ruby questioned.

"I don't know, we're far from Atlas but with all the reports about Haven I'm not sure if they're going to stay on the sidelines during this war." Blake said. She thought to herself for a moment before she made her way to the prison door.

"Where are you going?" Ruby called out, curiously.

The ebony haired girl didn't say a word as she opened the door and stepped out of the prison, leaving Ruby and Saber alone.

"What's with her?" The crimsonette turned to the tanned man.

"I don't know, I don't ever see her like that unless-" Realization dawned on him as he made his way towards the exit. "-sorry, but we will have to continue this another time."

"Hey! Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh, right." Saber unstrapped a small bag off his belt and tossed it to the smaller girl, who easily caught it with one hand.

"Thanks!" Ruby said as she pulled out a biscuit.

He only nodded as he closed the door behind him. He couldn't help but glance back as he walked away from the prison.

'Just what is she planning'

…

As soon as the door closed, Ruby flopped onto her bed with the bag of treats in her hand.

'I wonder if it was the right call to give away so much information'

She flipped over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She didn't feel any remorse for giving away the information and she knew that she was only telling them locations that were away from nearby villages. But then why did she feel… relieved? No, something different- it almost felt like she was a little happy to say it. She shook her head and sat upright.

'There's no way I'm a traitor… I mean there's just no way'

She thought back to the old days, back in Vale where everything was nice. No one really cared what anyone did unless they were in trouble or causing it, but in Atlas she felt alienated from the rest. She had better luck making friends with the faunus rather than the townsfolk all because of some gossip about her. It wasn't so different here- everyone was skeptical of her when she arrived but that was just out of fear, not gossip. Here felt a little better, some of the guards were friendly once she got to know them (except that one guy who thought he could scare her). Even most of the people were nice to her like Saber and Sun! They swung by to pay her a visit every now and then, and when Blake came by they would talk.

Speaking of Blake, the ebony haired girl would also come down to the prison on some nights. They would mostly discuss events that happened during the day and sometimes stray to personal matters, but it felt odd to the crimsonette. Every night she sees Blake she would feel... weird? Her stomach would feel all queasy and as of late her face would heat up every time she made physical contact with Blake.

She sighed as her head hit the pillow, wishing that Yang was here. Whenever she had questions regarding people and emotions she would normally ask her sister about it. She sighed again as her hand reached below her bed and felt the wrapped-up cloak. Maybe she should return to Vale, as she had spent enough time here in Vacuo for information. But where would she go to hide? There are not really many hiding spots to use before she could reach the border.

She turned over and faced the wall, closing her eyes as she tried to reorganize her thoughts.

* * *

Blake stood at the top of one of the watchtowers, gazing over the village at the base of the hill while the sun was setting. She couldn't help but feel that something was coming, with or without her knowing. Her messengers hadn't returned nor had she received any messages from the White Fang in the past week. She had archers stationed at the watchtowers, along with more guards on the battlements.

She watched until the moon began to rise on the horizon, several lights beginning to illuminate the village. Her hair blew in the wind as the breeze began to pick up while several clouds dotted the night sky.

'There's going to be a storm, huh'

Her ears perked up as she heard footsteps approach from behind her.

"Ma'am!" One of the guards stepped out from the stairwell, "We've got movement along the southern wall!"

Blake turned around and faced the guard, "Send the guards to check it out, and report back to me immediately if something's wrong."

The guard nodded as they retreated back down the flight of stairs, Blake's eyes drifted towards the southern wall as she saw movement along with torches. A crowd of guards stood at the base of the battlements. She watched for a couple more minutes before deciding to return back to her room- at least that was her initial plan.

A loud crack caused her to turn around as a bright flare shot upwards into the night sky. Yelling rang out as she rushed back to the railing, where she searched for the source of the signal from the tower until her gaze was fixated on the southern wall. Several black figures came over the wall, immediately attacking the guards that were stationed below.

"What on Remnant-" The words died in her throat as she heard clinks behind her, and she turned sharply and saw several metal hooks latched onto the stone wall. Blake didn't waste a moment as she drew her short sword from its sheath and ran towards the hooks. She peered over the wall and saw several soldiers, all dressed in light blue tunics with steel armor and weapons, climbing the rope attached to the hooks. The faunus waited a little longer for the intruders to climb before severing the ropes- she heard the screams before she heard a loud cracking sounds. She didn't bat an eye as she ran down the flight of stairs with her sword drawn. She ran out onto the courtyard only to be met with guards that were arriving from the keep.

"Ma'am!" One of the guards took notice of her and quickly saluted, "Do you know what's going on?"

"We're being attacked, I couldn't identify their coat of arms but they wore light blue tunics." Blake replied.

"Light blue? Wait- is it Haven?"

"I'm not sure, any mercenary band could take up any colored uniform but with how well equipped they are-" Blake was interrupted as a loud howl echoing throughout the castle. She, along with the others, turned her head towards the source of the sound- her blood froze as her eyes were locked on the black silhouette that stood at the top of the battlements. A beowolf stood with its head thrown back towards the crescent moon and its black fur blowing in the wind. It looked down at all the soldiers with a snarl before more beowolves rose from the other side of the battlements.

"Guards! To arms!" Blake shouted as she raised her blade, the others around her following suit and drawing their weapons. The black beasts dropped down from the wall and encircled the guards, none daring to charge at the faunus though keeping their distance rather close. Blake's gaze darted between each of the beasts, waiting for any of them to make a move- until she heard a whistling sound overhead.

An arrow lodged itself into one of the beowolves' shoulders before it let out a loud cry, another arrow following suit and striking its throat. The beast reared up on its hind legs before falling over with a loud thud, and a couple wolves glanced at the dead corpse before refocusing on the guards. A couple more arrows rained down on the beasts as they charged straight at them, shouting and the sound of flesh tearing enveloping the courtyard- their claws tore straight through the faunus guards' armor.

Blake narrowly ducked under a claw swiping at her and in a quick motion severed its arm. It roared as it stumbled back, giving the ebony haired girl an opening to plunge her blade into its throat. She didn't have time to recover as she dodged another swipe from behind, another beowolf charging at her soon after- its gaze locked onto her. She was forced to be on the defensive as it charged at her with a flurry of claws, and her eyes were locked on the beast before her until she saw a flash of blue in the corner of her vision.

A crowd of the intruders avoided the brawl in the courtyard and made their way towards the keep, several of them breaking off as they entered the castle and the rest heading towards-

'The prison'

The thought alone made her blood run cold before her attention went back to the fight at hand- the beast before her swung wide, leaving its side exposed to Blake. She stepped in close, driving her sword underneath its arm and into the chest. Black fluid gushed from the wound, covering the cat faunus as she stepped away from the carcass. She wiped her eyes clean of the fluid as she left her sword embedded in the beowolf.

"Miss Belladonna! We have soldiers in the keep!" One of the guards rushed to her, wielding a spear in their hands. "They're setting the castle ablaze!"

"What of the prison? _What about the prisoner_?" Blake questioned.

"Saber already went down to the prison- several guards saw him." The guard unsheathed his sword that was strapped to his side and handed it to her. "We can spare a couple men to go with you but that's all we can scrounge up."

"A couple is plenty enough, and once you're finished here send a couple men to help Saber. We can't let this castle fall." Blake took the offered sword and motioned for the guards to follow. Boots clattered against the cobblestone road as she ran into the castle- she could already see the fire spreading as she entered the keep. She covered her mouth with her free hand as she entered.

"Guard-" Blake pointed to one of the faunus following herm "-have two of your men put out these fires."

"Yes, Ma'am!" A chorus of voices rang out as the group entered the keep.

...

Ruby sat in her cell, constantly glancing between the prison door and back at the cell door that kept her from rushing out. She already pulled out her lock pick from her bag but stopped herself from unlocking the cell and leaving. She heard the howl from where she was, and since then the shouts and sounds of swords clashing hadn't stopped. She spun the lock pick kit in her hand to pass the time, suppressing the feeling to rush out to figure out what's going on outside.

A sudden sound made her turn towards the prison door, and she quickly hid the lock pick as she saw three soldiers enter.

"Find anyone that seems important- the queen may find them beneficial."

"Yes, sir." The other two said as they traveled down the corridor.

'Shit' The thought repeated tenfold as she saw the soldiers approaching her cell.

"Sir, there's only one person here." The soldier closest to her cell yelled back.

All three soldiers slowly approached her cell, one standing right in front of the bars as the other two stood at a good length away.

"Who are you little girl?" The captain asked as he pointed his blade towards her.

'A little girl that can kick your-'

"I'm a courier from Vale. I was captured a week ago under the assumption of being a spy." She lied while twiddling the lock pick in her pocket, focusing on the top of their helmets rather than making eye contact.

Thankfully, they went back to talking amongst themselves instead of questioning her.

"You said that you were from Vale?" The one closest to her stood an inch from the bars as he asked.

"Yes." She eyed them cautiously.

"Our queen would like to question you."

Ruby looked at each of the soldiers and saw the same coat of arms plastered to their chests. It looked familiar yet different as she examined the details.

"Who's the queen?" She asked as she stepped closer to the bars.

"You will know if you come with us." The captain replied.

"I won't go unless you tell me which faction you belong to, and last I heard there wasn't a kingdom with a ruling queen."

The captain stood hesitantly until the other soldiers spoke up, "We're from Haven."

'Haven, I thought Lionheart was the king'

She remembered Ozpin telling her that Haven wasn't getting involved in the war, mostly due to Lionheart's cowardice but what with the assault happening-

"Aren't you breaking the pact that was signed between all of the kingdoms?"

The same soldier was about to speak up until the door behind them opened up, from which Saber stepped out decked in a full set of armor and wielding an arming sword in his right hand.

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember inviting all of these guests." Saber said as he raised his sword.

All of Haven's soldiers drew their swords and faced the faunus guard, the one closest to the crimsonette completely turning his back on her. Before he stepped away from the cell, Ruby reached through the bars and wrapped her arm around his throat as she pulled him back. He struggled to breath as his back slammed against the bars, and he tried swinging his sword at the smaller girl but it bounced off the metal cell.

Saber took the opportunity that Ruby created and charged forward towards the other two soldiers. The captain swung his sword overhead at the tanned faunus while the other soldier thrust at his chest. Saber deflected the stab and side-stepped to avoid the overhead slash, and in one fluid motion he brought his sword down and landed a clean cut on the captain's leg. As the captain fell forward, Saber slashed across his chest- blood spraying all over the floor from the wound. He stepped away from the corpse and faced the last soldier who was trembling in his armor- the faunus only took one step forward before the Haven soldier dropped his sword and raised his hands up in surrender. The dark haired man took another step closer and brought up the hilt of his sword, and Ruby winced as she saw him knock them out.

"You know you could've just stuck him in a cell, I mean you have empty ones all around you." She quipped as she dropped the unconscious soldier onto the ground.

"Would've taken too long, and now he won't put up much of a fight." Saber sheathed his sword and dragged both unconscious men to one of the empty cells, quickly checking for concealed weapons before locking the cell door.

"Uh, would you mind explaining to me what's going on outside?" Ruby asked as she stood before her cell door.

"We're being attacked, I don't know much either but most of the guards are outside dealing with the intruders." Saber made his way over to a small rack in the corner of the room that was next to the prison door. "Come on, we're leaving."

"Wait... did I hear you correctly?" Her eyes were drawn to the pair of keys in his hand as he approached her cell, "It sounded like you were-"

"Under any circumstances during invasions, it's a priority to relocate the prisoner for further interrogation. As much as I would like to quote the rest of the White Fang's procedures, I think getting you to a safe place is a more pressing matter."

"What about Blake? Does she know about this?"

"She'll understand why. It's not like we're letting you go, though-" Saber stopped in his tracks as the door opened up behind him. Four soldiers entered the prison with their swords raised, and the faunus quickly spun around and raised his own in response.

"Get him!" The first soldier shouted as he charged forward, their blades clashing against each other while the rest of the soldiers were slowly surrounding Saber.

This tatic wasn't unnoticed by the crimsonette, and while at first she tried to get his attention it was useless as her shouts were drowned out by the fighting. She pulled out the lock pick and quietly went to work on her cell door, pressing her head against the metal and listening intently as she began to unlock the door. She silently prayed that they wouldn't notice her picking the lock, a click affirming that she was successful. She pushed the door open and grabbed one of the fallen swords that laid on the stone floor as she rushed towards the crowd.

Ruby stopped as a shout echoed throughout the room, and she saw Saber drop his sword as he clutched his side. He stumbled as blood seeped through his clothing, his back slamming against the wall. He slumped to the floor while the soldiers gathered around him, one stepping away with blood dripping from his sword and seeing Ruby standing in the hall.

His gaze darted between the opened cell and the girl standing in front of him before he pointed his blade towards the crimsonette, "How did you get out of the cell?"

Ruby said nothing as her grip on her sword tightened, and as proficient as she was in combat she couldn't handle several people at once. She raised her blade and took a step forward, and she felt relieved when she saw all the soldiers focused on her rather than Saber who laid on the ground. As she took another step forward three of the soldiers rushed her, but she held her ground as she deflected their blows. None of their attacks made contact but she couldn't land any of her own either, and she blocked an overhead swing and brought her sword down to stop a slash to her side. She parried another flurry of strikes before she felt herself losing ground, and during the midst of the fight she noticed that the fourth soldier was nowhere to be seen- rather, nowhere _she_ could see.

That's when she heard it, the small yet terrifying sound behind her. All three soldiers struck at the same time and yet she heard the fourth behind her. She stepped forward while raising her sword with her right hand, deflecting their strikes off to her right side. In one fluid motion she stepped to her left while ducking her head, narrowly dodging a blade that sailed over her but still made contact with her hat. Her free hand went to her pocket and drew out the lock pick, and she plunged the tip into the fourth soldier's exposed throat.

He let out a gurgling sound as his sword clattered to the ground, and Ruby adjusted her grip on the lock pick while hurling the dying soldier at the other three. The body slammed into one of the soldiers, making him stumble backwards as the other two also stepped back to avoid collision. She used the opportunity to get close and swung her sword in a sideways arc, her blade slashing through one of the soldiers while staying firmly embedded in the next. The last soldier recovered from the surprise attack and swung at her while she struggled to get the blade loose from the corpse, and instead she brought up the guard of the sword to block the attack.

A loud clash echoed throughout the prison as the block threw off the attack, making the soldier step back. Ruby dropped the sword and charged straight at him, leaving him no room to raise his weapon. She swept him off his feet with a sharp kick then immediately pounced on him with her hands around his throat. The soldier struggled underneath the crimsonette while she choked him, and she saw the fear in his eyes as he stared back at her.

"Y-you, you're one o-of them-" He stuttered before his body fell motionless, eyes glazing over. A thud echoed throughout the room as she dropped the body, and Ruby stared at the body before she reached up to the top of her head. She felt the shredded fabric as she gripped her shredded hat, and in an instant tore it off her head and watched it hit the floor, ripped ends fluttering in the wind.

'He saw them'

Her hand instinctively brushed over her furry set of ears, and she looked over the body once more before grabbing one of the swords scattered on the ground. She stood over the body once more and placed her hand on his neck.

'There's a pulse'

In one fluid motion she slit his throat, blood spewing out from the corpse as she left the blade by it. She ran back to her open cell and grabbed her belongings, quickly throwing on her mother's hood and almost donning the mask before she heard coughing from the other side of the room.

'Saber'

She forgot about the injured faunus- the smaller girl strapped the knapsack to her side and slowly made her way towards him. She placed the mask over her face just before she stood over Saber, closely examining the wound on his side and reaching into her knapsack. As much as she didn't want the others to know about her secret, she didn't want him to bleed out because of it. Just as she found the emergency med-kit she felt a hand grab her left forearm- she instinctively grabbed her crossbow but stopped herself as she realized that the hand belonged to the injured man himself.

"Y-you-" Saber said in between ragged breaths, his eyes filled with horror at the sight before him as he grabbed his sword, "-you're the-"

"Shh, this will help." Ruby was thankful that the mask hid her voice but the faunus didn't let go as she pulled out the small bag, "Trust me, I'm not going to kill you."

His gaze didn't falter but he let go of the hooded girl, and she let out a small sigh as she grabbed the disinfectant and a clean rag. She took a look at the wound and sighed in relief- the sword didn't puncture any vital organ or artery but could be fatal if left untreated. Although she said that she wasn't going to kill him, she didn't say that it wouldn't hurt. Saber winced in pain as he tried to keep himself from moving while Ruby cleaned the wound, his knuckles turning white as his grip on his sword tightened.

She finished bandaging up the wounded faunus before she stepped away towards a space below the storm drains. Just before she was about to climb a shout stopped her.

"Wait! Why are you here?" Saber propped himself against the stonewall, his right hand still on the bandage around his torso while the other clutched his sword.

"I'm here for a friend." Ruby mentally cursed herself for lying as she faced him. What surprised her though was a metal sword sliding across the floor, skidding to a stop a couple feet away from the crimsonette.

"Promise me one thing before you go- keep her safe." Saber could barely keep his eyes open before they fluttered closed and he fell unconscious. Ruby glanced at the offered sword for a moment before taking it. She felt bad for him, but she couldn't stay any longer. The risk of exposing herself was already high before, but now she really couldn't take any chances. She strapped the sword to her belt and climbed up to the storm drain.

* * *

 _Sorry for not updating for a while, work has me busy over the summer. Anyway to make it up, I decided to write a longer chapter... don't expect a lot of these in the future. Also to those who guessed it, here's a cookie._

 _*Raises cookie jar*_

 _-SRFW_

 _Next Chapter: The Red Reaper_


	10. The Red Reaper

_Remember the end notes from the last chapter? I lied._

* * *

Ruby pushed the top of the lid of the storm drain off to the side as she pulled herself out. She found herself in one of the castle's many patios, and she closed the lid and glanced around.

'No one is here'

It was a perfect time to escape- she could slip out of the castle while the White Fang were dealing with Haven. She took a step towards the battlements before she turned around and stared back at the stone keep.

'Why'

Her body wouldn't move from where she stood and her gaze didn't drift.

'Dammit, why'

What would happen when they would inevitably figure out that she's a wolf faunus? Would they raise their weapons and hunt her down like in the past? Would they shun her and label her as an outcast? Would they discriminate against her like they did in Atlas?

'If so, then why aren't you leaving' she screamed back at herself.

'Because Blake would stay'

She snapped out of her musing and looked back at the castle, smoke coming out from the holes in the roof. Blake could still be in there, fighting off the intruders. She let out a deep sigh as she reached for her crossbow and folded it out, when she noticed a small rail underneath the fore grip along with an indent. Instantly she pulled out the quiver of bolts and attached it, making a quiet clicking sound as it clicked into place. She drew the sword and ran towards the stairs that led to the main gate.

It didn't take her long to reach the top of the main gate, where she ducked behind the wall that hid the stairway and peered into the courtyard. Her eyes were wide as dinner plates as she took in the sight of creatures that were black as night fighting against the guards. Bodies and severed limbs were scattered on the cobblestone floor, and when she looked closely she noticed puddles of black liquid that dotted the ground. She took a deep breath as she thought out her approach, as once she shows herself everyone here will consider her as a hostile.

'Dammit, who cares what they think. By the looks of things, they can't hold out much longer against those beasts'

Without any more hesitation, she stepped out from her hiding spot and rested the sword on a metal bar that covered one of the many windows before sliding the sword against said bar. The sound that came from the scraping metal was almost enough to knock her out if she hadn't resisted the feeling, and when she looked back out onto the courtyard she saw everyone staring back at her.

She stood unmoving on top of the gate as the wind blew against her cloak, letting it flap in the moonlight.

"I-it's it's-"

"Why are they here-"

"It can't be-"

Ruby tuned out their voices as she scanned the courtyard, letting out a small sigh when she saw Blake on the balcony.

'At least she's safe'

Growling snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked below her, where she saw several soldiers and a few of the guards running away from her but the black creatures stayed put. Yellow eyes stared back at her as they bared their fangs, letting out growls as they glared at her. She raised both her sword and crossbow before she jumped off the castle gate, firing a bolt into the skull of the beast below her and using its corpse as a springboard to propel herself forward.

The creatures didn't waste a second as they charged after the red-hooded figure, Ruby bringing up her sword to block a swipe on her right as she shot another bolt, bringing down another creature as she landed. She ducked under another strike and slashed underneath the beast's arm, severing it in the process. It roared in pain as black fluid gushed out from the stump, barely covering her as she ran through the courtyard.

The guards on the wall watched the hooded assassin elegantly move through the crowd of beasts and men, easily dismembering and beheading as if they were dancing. Corpses dropped as they passed through, their cloak flapping behind them. Red splashed onto the white fabric, leaving crimson spots where it landed. Blood splattered onto the stone pavement as puddles of black remained, bodies scattered as more began to pile up one after another.

She deflected a strike using the guard of her sword before stepping in and disarming the Haven soldier. Before he had the time to retaliate, she quickly drew her sword across his chest. More blood splashed onto her, painting her mask and cloak in red. The remaining creatures and surviving Haven soldiers formed a circle around her , but she stood in the center unwaveringly.

She watched them circle around her as she folded her crossbow and holstered it. Her free hand went to the knapsack and pulled out a red vial, hidden from view behind her blood-splattered cloak. The moment she popped the cork off the vial she drenched the blade of her sword with its contents, clear red liquid flowing down the blade as it dripped from the tip.

The beasts backed away as the Haven soldiers charged at her- she dragged the tip of the blade on the stone floor and swung her sword in a sideways arc. Sparks flew off the stone before the blade of the sword completely caught on fire, the bright orange flame illuminating the courtyard. Those who had charged at her turned away from the hooded devil and retreated, hiding behind the black creatures.

She said nothing as she brandished her flaming sword in a threatening manner, slowly approaching them.

"Leave, before I turn your bodies into ash." Her voice was deep and cold as she pointed the tip of her blade at the Haven intruders.

The soldiers said nothing as they fled the castle, the few remaining soldiers using the grappling hooks that got them inside to escape. The creatures cowered before her as she approached, and they turned around and scaled the walls along with the last few soldiers. In mere moments the castle was silent as Haven retreated, the guards that were left staring at the figure in the empty courtyard in awe.

The fire died out as she let the sword clatter onto the ground, the metal glowing as heat radiated off the blade. She let out a quiet sigh as her cloak flapped in the wind- a pair of footsteps echoed off the stone behind her, and before she could turned around she heard someone running up to her.

Ruby rolled to her right as the blade sailed above her, and in one fluid motion she kicked the assailant off their feet- or at least she would have. Blake caught herself from falling by extending her free hand and pushing off the ground, landing on her feet while raising her sword at the red-hooded figure.

"Blake?" Ruby whispered under her breath, her eyes locked on the metal blade before her.

The ebony haired girl said nothing as she charged at her- Ruby barely dodged the next attack as she stepped off to her side, constantly sidestepping each swing. Blake stepped in and thrust the blade directly at her chest. Ruby leaned back and arched her back as she planted both her hands on the floor behind her, kicking the sword upwards and disarming Blake. The bladed landed a couple feet away from the two as the hooded girl recovered from her backflip, both locking eyes with each other.

More footsteps approached her, several guards drawing their bows and aiming at her from on top of the walls. Guards flooded from the keep and raised their blades as they surrounded her, and soon enough they completely encircled the crimsonette.

"Drop your weapons and surrender." One of the guards stepped forward with his weapon pointed at her, making slow strides towards her yet cautiously eyeing her.

Her hand slipped into her knapsack and she pulled out one of her vials- she didn't know which one she grabbed but she prayed that it would help. Her movements were hidden behind her cloak until she brought up the vial and hurled it towards the ground. A gust of wind formed where the vial had landed, and everyone shielded their eyes from the sudden blast while Ruby ran through the distracted crowd and up the stairs leading to the walls.

The guards that were stationed on the wall drew their bows and fired at her, only to watch the arrows be blown away from the initial gust of wind. With no other obstacles left, the hooded girl vaulted over the wall and disappeared from sight. A few of the guards ran towards the wall to find the red specter while the others began to search the castle for wounded or any remaining intruders.

Blake watched the guards as she strode towards the discarded sword that was left by the Red Reaper. She stood a couple inches away from the burnt metal, carefully examining the remains of the weapon. The blade was completely disfigured and blackened by the fire. She looked closer at the guard and the hilt to find the answer to how the blade was able to burst into flames- however, she didn't see any runes on the blade, nor could she sense any presence of magic. What she did see was shattered glass next to the sword and she noticed the details on the guard looked similar to-

'The Royal Protector's Crossguard'

The ebony haired girl began to see the similarities in the ruined sword before her- the familiar grip, the hilt, and even the intricate details that were engraved. Why would a sword like this be here? Only those who were trusted to protect the clan leaders would be given one like-

"Saber." She whispered as her eyes turned towards the prison doors. In an instant she was at the doorway and peering inside the stone prison, carefully making her way through the pile of corpses until her ears caught a sound coming from the back. The cat faunus cautiously approached the source of the sound with a dagger raised, and she felt her blood freeze as she saw Saber laying against the wall. Blake immediately sheathed her dagger as she ran towards the injured faunus, kneeling next to him and checking his pulse. She let out a sigh of relief as she felt a pulse, proof that Saber was still alive.

The sound of metal creaking snapped her out of her thoughts as she turned towards the cause of the sound. Her blood froze as she saw the cell door sway in the darkened corridor.

"Ruby?" Her voice wavered as she scanned the empty cell. Her eyes darted around the room for any signs of where the crimsonette had gone, until she felt someone tugging her arm.

"Saber?! Saber! You're going to be alright, you're going to be alright." She kept repeating before she noticed the bandages.

"Miss Belladonna-" His voice was strained as his grip tightened.

"Don't speak, I'll get a medic to help and-"

"Ruby is- she's-"

Blake immediately quieted herself as she stared at him.

"-she escaped with the Red Reaper."

She said nothing as she processed what Saber told her. The Red Reaper wasn't with anyone as they escaped, yet they made a flashy appearance and kept most of the guards' attention as they-

'As they distracted everyone'

Blake turned towards the empty cell once more, wondering if Ruby knew this all along.

* * *

Weiss walked down the halls in silence as she carried a couple spell books under her arm. The walk to her destination was brief as she arrived in front of a brown wooden door, which she knocked on and waited for a response. Several minutes passed before she knocked again, this time a little louder. She let out a sigh as her patience was running thin.

"Yang! I know you're in there. Open up before I make you! The white-haired girl yelled through the door. She waited for a moment before she pulled out her rapier, a small snowflake glyph appeared by the door handle before the lock was completely encased in ice. The lock shattered as Weiss snapped her fingers, and she didn't waste a second as she stepped into the room. She found the blonde warrior sitting at a desk towards the back, near a single twin-sized bed.

"H-hey, Weiss...I, uh, didn't hear you knocking..." Yang sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"Sure you didn't." She said as she strode over to Yang and picked up a bag that sat behind her.

"Hey! Give that back, those are my-"

"What? Spell books?" Weiss said as she opened up the bag, the first thing she saw being a map, sleeping bag, and a pouch of lien. "Yang, everyone here knows that you don't even look through them, much less stay in Ruby's room to study."

Yang let out a loud sigh as she slumped back into her chair. "Well, you caught me. Weiss, you know that she's still out there."

"I'm not denying the possibility but if you sneak out to find her, where will you go? It's not like they left a note or anything about her."

"I don't know...I was just going to wing it once I got out of Vale..."

"Unbelievable, you were going to figure it out as you go? Without any clues or help you wouldn't last long." Weiss said as she placed Yang's bag next to the desk.

The blonde swordswoman was about to argue until she realized what the mage had said.

"So, you're coming along?" Yang asked.

"Not just me, but everyone else. I'll inform you when we're prepared to leave."

"Why not leave tonight? If everyone else is on board then why don't we just leave right now?"

"Because right now Ozpin is keeping an eye on us- you know how much power he has here."

"Uh huh, so when do we leave?"

"When Ozpin has to attend the Vytal Signing in a couple weeks. Ozpin and Glynda would be travelling overseas while the rest of us leave for Vacuo."

"Alright, fine. We'll leave as soon as they leave port." Yang stood up from the desk and closed a book that sat on top.

"Wait, you were actually looking through a spell book?" Weiss questioned.

"Yes, I was. None of the books in the library were helpful so I went to Ruby's room." Yang answered as she placed the book in her bag.

"If it wasn't in the library, then why would it be in here?"

"Remember when you first met Ruby?"

…

" _You can cast ice spells?! That's so cool!" An excitable crimsonette was practically shaking where she stood while the ice sorceress tried to concentrate on learning a new spell._

 _It was like this from the start of the year, when the young wolf faunus found her practicing in the courtyard. She was completely enamored by her ability to cast ice magic while Weiss had only thought of the other as an annoying child. Almost everyday she would somehow get into Vale's most guarded castle, Beacon, and spend an hour or so with her before disappearing within the castle walls._

 _Sometimes she would find her talking to Yang Xiao Long whenever she walked down the halls, often chatting with the blonde or eating together at lunch. Other times she'd just greet the staff as she ran in the halls with her cloak flapping behind her._

 _She couldn't help but feel envious towards the younger girl, the wolf faunus who became friends with the entire staff of the Magical Ward and a few of the top students in only a short amount of time while Weiss kept her distance from everyone- well, everyone except for the Ruby who kept barging in on her personal space._

 _"Hey, Weiss? What are you doing?" Ruby asked as she sat on a bench in the courtyard. Today was no exception, as she was practicing conjuring a familiar while the crimsonette came over and watched her. The white-haired girl stood in the center with a large snowflake glyph circling before her._

 _"I'm practicing." She said coldly. How the younger girl couldn't tell was beyond her, especially since they were at one of the most renowned schools for magic._

 _"I know that-" The wolf faunus droned as she rolled her eyes, "-but I'm asking what you're doing. Most of your glyphs that you usually cast are either smaller or instantaneous."_

 _Weiss was shocked- she didn't expect her to pay attention like to her glyphs, especially when all she does is mess around when Ruby hangs out with her._

 _"What I'm doing is conjuration: a simple yet delicate spell." Weiss answered while focusing on the glyph. A few seconds passed when the glyph began to speed up- the white snowflake glowed before it disappeared, leaving a small bird in its place. It was pure white with the exception of its light blue eyes. The bird hopped around the courtyard for a moment before perching itself on Weiss' shoulder._

 _"Wow!" Ruby stared at the white creature with wide eyes as she got up from her bench and made her way towards the bird. "How did you do that?!"_

 _"You summon familiars or companions by calling out to them- spirits roam Remnant in various forms and are summoned after the caster makes a pact with one of them."_

" _How do you make a pact?" The crimsonette asked with a brow raised._

 _The white haired mage pointed her rapier towards the ground, casting a large snowflake glyph._

 _"We use these glyphs to communicate with those spirits, and we give them some of our aura in exchange for their services."_

 _"Aura, isn't that our magic's energy source?"_

 _"In a way...aura varies from person to person. Someone could have a larger aura pool than someone else, but it doesn't matter if they can't unlock it."_

 _"I'm confused...then what determines your affinity?"_

 _"Aura also determines your affinity for certain elements. Each element is strong, however the more simpler ones are the most flexible such as fire-"_

 _"Or ice." Ruby added._

 _"Exactly, however it doesn't matter unless you unlock your aura."_

 _"Ugh, you sound like my sister." The younger girl groaned._

 _"It's only because it's true...wait, you hav-" Her speech was cut off as the bells rang out above._

 _The crimsonette's eyes widened as she heard the bells, "Gah! I'm going to be late!"_

 _Ruby quickly bolted towards the nearest exit, leaving Weiss in the courtyard with her unanswered questions._

* * *

 _"Oww." The crimsonette whined as her back hit the floor, dropping her wooden sword to the side._

 _"Almost got me there, Ruby- you're getting better." Pyrrha acknowledged as she flipped her metal visor up. Both of them were in the arena, wearing metal armor as they spared._

 _"Maybe you should take a break...you two have been at this for a while." Ren suggested from the stands. A couple of their friends had come down to the arena to watch them practice, or more like watch Ruby get a beat-down._

 _"Nah, I'm fine. Just give me a second." The young wolf faunus propped herself up and picked up her sword._

 _"It wouldn't hurt to take one though- you're already the second best fighter, never mind our best archer." Jaune added._

 _"Second best isn't good enough, and since Pyrrha and I still haven't unlocked our auras yet we've got to stay in shape."_

 _"But you both could single handedly take on a garrison,! Heck, even without auras you two could take over a castle!" Nora stated._

 _"I bet we could take on more if we had our auras." Ruby muttered to herself._

 _The two continued to fight after Pyrrha traded in her wooden sword for a spear and shield. The red-haired warrior won all the spars as the younger girl kept hitting the ground._

 _"One more time." Ruby huffed as she stood up with her sword raised._

 _"Maybe you should just rest- I think that we've been here long enough, Ruby." Pyrrha offered._

 _"One last time, I promise."_

 _"Alright," The redhead said as she raised both her weapons._

 _The two charged at each other, Pyrrha blocking most of Ruby's jabs as the crimsonette kept circling her. In the midst of combat Pyrrha deflected one of the slashes using her shield and stepped forward, raising her spear. The deflection knocked the crimsonette back, the momentum of which Ruby used as she handsprang away from the Amazon._

 _Pyrrha closed the distance between them and swung at the crimsonette- the moment Ruby's feet touched the ground she slid forward on her knees while arching her back, watching the spear sail over her head. In one fluid motion she recovered from her slide and slashed at Pyrrha's exposed side, waiting for the strike to connect._

 _Except it didn't- while everyone was expecting Ruby to land a hit, they didn't ever imagine they'd see her flying across the arena and hitting the wall with a loud thud. Ruby was suspended against the wall, a couple feet above the ground. Everyone was shocked as they looked at Pyrrha who stood in the center of the arena with her eyes wide._

 _"Py-Pyrrha? Could you let me down now?" The crimsonette strained against her invisible bonds but to no avail._

 _"Sorry! U-um how do I-" The redhead dropped her weapons as she tried to figure out what she was doing. Both Jaune and Nora ran over to her, trying to help her with her powers while Ren went over to Ruby. After a short while Pyrrha figured out how to "control" her new power, at least enough to let Ruby down from the wall. The black haired boy was checking for any injuries on the wolf faunus while Nora was gushing over the redhead's new powers._

 _"Oh my Oum, Pyrrha! How did you do it, huh?! Tell me!" Nora was practically hopping all over the place._

 _"I don't- I'm not sur-"_

 _"Well done, Miss Nikos."_

 _A familiar voice made everyone turn towards the arena entrance. They all immediately kneeled to the ground as they saw King Ozpin enter._

 _"Rise, I came here to congratulate Miss Nikos. Nothing more." He said as he approached the small group._

 _"Um, Your Majesty...do you know what my powers are?" Pyrrha asked, "There wasn't a change in the wind nor was there any ice or earth created-"_

 _The white-haired king raised his hand, effectively silencing the red-haired warrior."You've been given a great gift, as not many have the ability to control metal."_

 _"M-metal?"_

 _"Polarity is your affinity- you have control over metal ,however you cannot bend or shape it as you wish."_

 _"But, metal? I'm sorry, but that sounds-"_

 _"Aura works in mysterious ways, Miss Nikos- I trust that you'll learn to control and harness its power in time." Ozpin simply waved his farewells as he made his way towards the exit. The silence was short-lived as the orange-haired hammer-wielder squealed in excitement._

 _"Wow! You can control metal?! Show me, show me, please!"_

 _"Nora?" Jaune whispered nervously as he turned his head towards the crimsonette._

 _"Yeah, Jaune?" Nora asked before her eyes followed where the blonde boy was staring. Ruby was kneeling on the ground with her right hand against the wall, her helmet discarded as it sat a couple feet away from her. She stared absentmindedly towards the floor until she let out a quiet sniffle and wiped her eyes with her free hand._

" _Well, it looks like I should start wearing leather now when we spar." Ruby joked as she flashed a smile towards them._

 _They all watched the younger girl pick up her sword and helmet from the ground and make her way towards the exit. Ruby was already at the exit when her tears began to freely flow down her face._

* * *

" _Ruby? Are you… okay?" Weiss asked as she saw the crimsonette slouch against a column, staring aimlessly into the sky._

" _Not really." The wolf faunus muttered._

" _Do you...want to talk about it?"_

" _No." Ruby replied as she rested her head in her arms._

 _The white-haired mage said nothing as she went back to her conjuration. She didn't get that far as Ruby spoke up after a couple of minutes._

" _Hey, Weiss? How did you unlock your aura?" The crimsonette asked softly._

" _Well, you know how my family are a bunch of mages, correct?"_

" _Yeah, you wouldn't stop repeating that when you came."_

 _Weiss held her tongue before she continued, "I was taught simple spells when I was a child, from illumination spells to communicating with spirits."_

" _I thought that you learn conjuration when you unlock your aura."_

" _You do, but you can still form pacts and communicate using summoning circles. Anyway, my aura unlocked itself when I tried to form a pact with one of the spirits."_

" _What happened next?" The wolf faunus asked as she turned towards the mage._

" _The pact failed as the spirit wasn't compatible with my aura. Soon after, my aura fully unlocked itself as the room was covered in ice."_

" _So your aura was unlocked as you tried to form a pact?"_

" _Pretty much, and since then my parents became strict about my studies-"_

" _How do you make a summoning circle?"_

" _Oh… uh, you'll need a special kind of chalk along with specific instructions to make a proper cir-"_

" _Thanks, Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed as she ran towards the exit._

" _What is up with her and her childish antics?" Weiss muttered._

…

" _Where is it… aha!" Ruby pulled out a large leather book from her bookcase. "I knew I had a copy."_

 _She stepped down from her stool and carefully strode past all of the scattered books on the floor. She'd never been so thankful for her obsession with magic in her life as she was now, flipping through the book for conjuration spells. Her eyes lit up as she found the right page, and she picked up the small box on her desk and made her way towards the empty room that was connected to hers. She'd have to make a mental note to say thanks to Goodwitch for giving her the chalk and Oobleck for allowed her to stay in this room._

 _She stepped into the empty room and began to draw out the circle on the wooden floor. She was originally using this room as a personal gym but she had moved all the weights to the side. Once she was finished with drawing the summoning circle she rechecked the instructions before she kneeled at the edge of the circle._

" _Alright, here goes nothing." Ruby pulled out a dagger from her belt and pricked her index finger, letting the blood drip onto the chalk._

 _She watched the circle glow in a bright white light before it flickered and died. The wolf faunus let out a groan as she laid back on the floor._

" _This was a waste of time." She muttered._

 _Ruby stared at the ceiling until she noticed the room dimming, and then she sat straight up and noticed that the candles were all blown out._

" _Weird, I could've sworn that I just lit the-"_

 _A gurgling sound brought her attention towards the summoning circle, and she jumped as she saw a forming black puddle in the center._

" _Hello?" Ruby whispered._

…

 _The dining hall was much quieter than usual, and as much as Weiss enjoyed the peace and quiet she knew something was wrong. She noticed that Nora and Jaune weren't speaking as much and Ruby was nowhere in sight._

" _Hey, you're Weiss, right?" A voice startled her as she turned to face the speaker. Out of all the people that she was expecting, she didn't anticipate to see Yang next to her._

" _Yang Xiao Long, to what do I owe the pleasure of meeting you?"_

" _Have you seen my little sister? She's usually here but I haven't seen her."_

" _You have a sister?"_

" _Yes, she's short, has red hair, is sometimes annoying, and she's a wolf faunus."_

" _Wait, Ruby's your sister?!"_

" _Yeah, you didn't know?"_

" _Of course not-" Weiss let out a sigh before continuing, "-look, the last time I saw Ruby was when we were in the courtyard, well until she ran off somewhere."_

" _Damn, could you help me look for her?" The blonde asked._

" _S-sure, but where do you think that she could be?"_

" _Either she's in the arena being pummeled by Pyrrha or she's in her room, unless you wouldn't happen to know where-."_

" _Being pummeled by Pyrrha?!" Weiss' eyes widened._

" _What? They spar with each other everyday." Yang shrugged as they walked down the halls._

" _Hey, Yang?" Weiss spoke up after a short while, "How are you two sisters when, you know-"_

" _Well we aren't sisters by blood, our dad found her during his border patrol. She was covered in cuts and was bleeding real bad. After he took her home and treated her, she started staying around with nowhere else to go. From there, we asked her if she would like to be part of our family and she accepted."_

" _How did she end up like that?"_

" _It's a secret, and she doesn't really want that many people to know."_

 _They walked in silence once more until the mage heard Yang cleared her throat._

" _You know, I never really got to thank you."_

" _For what?" Weiss asked with a brow raised._

" _For putting up with Ruby during your practices. She can be really distracting sometimes."_

" _It wasn't a big deal, but I was surprised by how much she was paying attention to my practices though. She'll be a great mage once she unlocks her aura."_

 _Yang stiffened at that statement. "Um, Weiss?"_

" _Yes?"_

" _Have you seen any other faunus here in Beacon?"_

" _I mean, I've seen a couple by the arena but-"_

" _Yes, but what about in the Magical Ward?"_

 _Weiss blinked as she tried to recall any faunus students that she had seen._

" _No, I have not." The white-haired mage answered._

" _That's because there aren't any."_

" _What are you-"_

" _I didn't want to sour the mood, but have you ever heard of any faunus magi?"_

" _No-"_

" _Because there aren't many to begin with. Faunus have a lower chance of obtaining magic, compared to humans."_

" _So you're saying that Ruby-"_

" _Unless she's part of the special percentage, she… can't use magic."_

 _Weiss stood there in shock with her eyes wide- the girl whose only dream, the girl who wanted to use magic more than anything… couldn't._

 _A loud scream broke her out of her trance as the two turned towards the source._

" _What the hell?" Weiss swore as Yang pulled her arm._

" _Come on!" Yang shouted as she pulled the mage with her._

 _The screaming continued as the two stood outside the door. Yang slammed against the door, breaking it open as they stepped inside._

" _Stand back." Weiss unsheathed her rapier and cast several glyphs onto the last door, freezing it completely before shattering it into pieces._

 _Light flooded the room- as the duo peered into the darkness, they saw the crimsonette in the far left corner, curled up into a small ball._

" _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-" Ruby kept repeating as she held herself._

" _Hush, you're going to be alright, Rubes." Yang made her way towards the wolf faunus and picked her up in her arms. "Weiss, can you get Goodwitch?"_

" _What for?"_

" _Can you get her to figure out what Rubes was trying to do here? I'm going to bring her to the infirmary."_

" _Alright." Weiss replied as she watched the two leave the room. Before she left she took one last look around, and she noticed a dried black pool in the center of a summoning circle along with several claw marks on the wooden floor. What creeped her out the most were the candles- the wax had the same black liquid at the top, effectively covering the fuses. She shuddered as she left the room, feeling as if someone was watching her as she stepped out._

…

"Yang, why do I get the feeling that I know which book you were looking for...?"

"So you know how I'm going to find her, right?" Yang asked with a brow raised.

"You're going to track her using the traces of her magic from the summoning circle."

"Yep." The blonde said while popping the 'p'.

"But I thought you said that faunus couldn't use magic?"

"She had to use something to summon whatever that thing was in that room. Heck, even Goodwitch didn't know what it was."

"That's true."

"So, are you convinced that I've got a plan?"

"Plan or not, I'm still going with you." Weiss stated as she pulled Yang into an embrace.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

The forest was quiet as the moon began to slowly set over the horizon. How long had it been that she'd seen the days go by? She couldn't remember even if she wanted to. What had brought her back here? Was it the memory of where everything had fallen? Was it where she had lost her? Or is it-

Her attention shifted towards the tree line, where she saw a familiar shade of red in the shadows. Not one recreated by dyes, but from blood itself.

She let out a small chuckle as she recalled a memory from back then.

"So the saying is true, like mother like daughter."

* * *

 _Phew, more fight scenes and more questions to be answered. I can't believe it though, thanks for all the support for this story. It really keeps me motivated when you guys comment or leave kudos on this story!_


	11. When The Past Comes To Haunt

'Why? Why am I having these dreams once more?' She thought as she stared into the darkness.

These dreams that she'd been having for the past couple of weeks, these _nightmares_ kept plaguing her sleep with revolting images or something worse. There she was, standing in a room full of darkness- not a sound was heard in these desolate plains. She hadn't had these dreams before coming back to Vacuo, and certainly not after her mother's death.

She began to walk around the void, keeping an eye out for anything that stood out in any form. Unlike the previous nightmares, nothing seemed to come out- usually there was a bloody figure of whatever the remains were of her mother or a large creature made of shadows but nothing was unexpected.

Ruby quickly inspected her clothing- it was different as well. She wasn't dressed in the rags she wore as she ran from the hunters nor her usual leather armor when fighting the abominations- it was still her tunic and her mother's cloak.

"This is weird," the crimsonette muttered to herself.

"What is weird?" A voice asked behind her.

The wolf faunus jumped before she turned around towards the source of the voice, but when she did she found no one there.

"I swear I'm going crazy." Ruby uttered as she turned back, only to be greeted with a woman standing before her.

"Now, we can't have that- it's been a while since I had decent company." The woman said.

The crimsonette fell back as she let out a yelp- she braced herself to hit the floor, but her arm was caught by something. When she looked to see what caught her arm, she saw nothing.

"That isn't a proper way to greet someone- you should at least say hello." The mysterious woman added with a smirk.

"Who are you?" The younger girl asked as she recovered from her fall. The woman had pale white skin in contrast to her black clothing. Black veins covered her arms while she wore her white hair in a bun, and the only exception to her monochromatic attire was her blood red eyes.

"How rude, questioning someone after they helped you," The pale woman said, "But if you must know, I used to be antiquated with your mother."

Silver eyes narrowed at the older woman as Ruby took a step back, "You knew my mother?"

"Of course, we knew each other for a long time. Well, before her dea-"

"Don't finish that sentence." The crimsonette interrupted, "That still doesn't explain who you are."

The white-haired woman let out a chuckle, "Let's just say I'm someone who has been watching for a while."

"Watching me?"

"Not just you, but everything. How the lands have changed, how the kingdoms evolved or crumbled, and how the races are killing each other."

"What are you, then?" Ruby asked as she rested her hand on the grip of her crossbow.

"I'm the shadows where the light doesn't reach, the one most feared in the past." The pale woman stated with a smile, her red eyes glowing in the darkness as a large silhouette formed behind her, "I'll see you soon enough."

The dark outline towered over the two of them, until it eventually formed into a large black dragon. It had a larger bone mask covering its face along with several bone spikes attached to its body. It extended its wings and looked as if it were about to pounce on the crimsonette. She felt the ground underneath her disappear as she began to free fall into the void below, her screams going unheard as her body kept falling. The last thing she saw was the large dragon flying at her with its jaws open and ready to swallow the red-clad girl.

"What the- oof!" Ruby woke up and slammed her forehead against the trunk of a tree. The crimsonette howled in pain as she caught herself from falling from the branch that she was perched on.

"That's one hell of a wake up call..." she muttered to herself as she rubbed her forehead. She quickly inspected herself to see if anything was different, any marks or strange cuts. The wolf faunus let out a sigh and quickly scanned the area before she dropped down from the tree, pulling her bag from another tree branch and beginning to walk through the forest.

'I must really be going crazy'

Unlike the forest in Atlas, Vacuo's was practically a rain forest but without large rivers cutting through the woodlands. The wolf faunus pushed past some of the shrubbery as her boots splashed in the mud. Eventually she came to a clearing along a cliff side, which offered a view of the rest of the forest before her. Her eyes, following along the cliff side, locked on to her destination- she let out a sigh as she began her hike.

As much as she wanted to avoid going to the Forever Fall Cliffs, she knew it was her best bet for getting back to Atlas. She shuddered at the memory of running to the cliffs, but the crimsonette shook her head and proceeded to trek through the forest. Ruby occasionally glanced back towards where she had slept and wondered what she imagined in her dreams.

Was the woman real? Had that woman really known her mother, and if so, why hadn't her mother mentioned her before? Her questions remained unanswered as she made her way through the woodland, trying to understand the connection between her mother and that woman.

* * *

Blake dismounted her horse as the group of faunus stopped by a small creek, quickly surveying the surrounding for any traces of the red-clad assassin. After the small attack on Fort Shade, a few of the guards wanted to purse the Reaper in hopes of catching them off guard.

As they said, "It would be the most effective way of dealing with the Fang's worst problem."

She was against sending out men and wasting resources to hunt down the bloodthirsty hunter but after sending a report to the White Fang Command, they were ordered to track down the Red Reaper anyway.

The ebony-haired girl let out a sigh as she slumped against the nearest tree- of course, she didn't need to join the tracking team due to her father's orders. Apparently, when word got back to the main camp, several soldiers saw her father looking pale before fainting after receiving her report. The messenger also noted that she was ordered to stay by Saber's side until further notice, which was pretty tough since Saber volunteered to join the tracking team despite his wounds.

The medics back at the castle tried to keep Saber in bedrest but the stubborn faunus said that he wouldn't forgive himself if he didn't come along. In addition to the royal protector's argument, the ebony-haired girl also came along for her own reasons. She was told that she could assist in finding the assassin but couldn't engage in combat.

It didn't matter to her, as she wasn't hunting down the Reaper anyway- at least not on this journey. She had a debt to repay to the crimson-haired medic, and she'd see to it that Ruby's life was safe from the White Fang. She mentally cursed herself once more for dragging the young girl into this mess, but she'd be lying to herself if she said that she hadn't grown attached to the energetic medic.

The cat faunus let out another sigh as she slumped further. What was going on with her? She would try to spend as much time with Ruby every time she didn't need to write a report or to check up on the castle- hell, most of the time she would look forward to talking with the crimsonette. She would find her company very relaxing compared to most people she talked to, and recently her stomach would start to feel... strange the more time she spent with Ruby.

Blake stared straight up into the cloudy sky, through the leaves and branches. By the looks of it, in a couple hours it was going to be raining. She prayed that the rain wouldn't be that bad, as they were already having trouble tracking the red-clad assassin.

A shout interrupted her thoughts as one of the trackers ran back to the main party with something in their hands. She didn't move from her spot as several other trackers gathered around him, but after a couple minutes they all nodded and called everyone to mount up. The ebony-haired girl rose from her spot and made her way towards her steed, quickly mounting it as Saber pulled up beside her.

"Is there something troubling you, Miss Belladonna?" He asked.

"What did I say about calling me that, Saber? Just call me by my first name." Blake replied as she steered her mount towards the rest of the trackers.

"My apologies, it's just been... stressful these past couple of days." Saber admitted as he rode next to her.

"I second that- with more troops being sent out to the front lines, it's been hard just trying to keep track of everything."

"Not to mention trying to keep the masses from freaking out about the Red Reaper being here in Vacuo."

"Lets just hope that the rumors haven't spread towards the main cities." The cat faunus muttered as the two followed behind the group.

"From what I've heard, only the guards and command are aware of it. The guards have already been sworn to secrecy- as for command, they're keeping it to themselves until we either track them down or the Red Reaper escapes." Saber reassured.

"That's a relief- I don't think we can deal with a wide spread panic attack." Blake added.

The male faunus nodded in response as they continued in silence, a few minutes passing before the tanned faunus spoke up.

"Mis- Blake, what are you planning to do when we find them?" He asked hesitantly.

"Our orders were to deal with the Red Reaper. After that, we head back to Fort Shade." She replied.

"I understand that, but what do we do when we find them? Command didn't mention anything about dealing with Ru- the medic."

"No, they did not," Blake muttered as she realized what he said, "Saber, what are you proposing?"

"If I'm not being too bold..."

Blake nodded for him to continue.

"Do you think that this is the best course of action?" Saber asked hesitantly.

* * *

Ruby camped under the mouth of a cave just as the rain began to fall. If there was one thing that she hadn't missed about Vacuo, it had to be its flash rainstorms. She briefly glanced around the cave before sitting against the stone wall- she was already feeling uneasy just being here. The crimsonette looked around the cave once more, noticing something... _familiar_ the longer she kept looking.

The faunus stood up from where she sat and inspected the cave. Her eyes began to adjust to the shadows of the cave and she spotted something in the corner. She hesitantly made her way towards the object as it glinted in the darkness, praying that what she was seeing isn't what she thought it was. A lump formed in her throat as she reached for the leather object, her hand shaking before her fingers wrapped around it.

Ruby brushed the dirt from the leather until she was left with a dagger in her hands. She felt sick as she dropped the weapon, immediately putting a hand onto the stone wall as her other free hand covered her mouth. She felt like her rations were about to come back up before she took deep breaths to calm herself.

'Shit, why now?'

The crimsonette eyed the fallen dagger before she turned away. She wanted to get moving again- anything to get away from here.

 _"Ru-by..."_ A distorted voice was heard behind her, causing the wolf faunus to turn around with her crossbow drawn.

"Not again..." Ruby muttered as she scanned the cave.

 _"Ru-n Ruby..."_ The voice came from behind her once more.

The wolf faunus turned again with her weapon raised, only to be greeted with a figure dressed in a white cloak. Ruby stepped back as she tried to steady her crossbow, her hand shaking as the figure approached her.

 _"Ruby..."_ The white cloak slowly turned into crimson as blood began to drip down onto the stone floor as the figure approached her.

"S-stay away!" Ruby cried as she backed up against a wall, her eyes not leaving the approaching figure. Her hands shook in fear as she felt the cold from the stone wall.

 _"Y-you are- alw-ways, my li-ittle rose."_ The distorted voice became clear to her, sounding hauntingly familiar while sending shivers down her spine at the same time.

"N-no, I'm not- I left..." the wolf faunus' voice cracked from sorrow, tears beginning to form along the edges of her vision, "I left you- to-"

The younger girl stopped as she looked up to see her mother's face- her mother's hair was a dark shade of crimson and her eyes shone a darker silver. Blood trailed from the corner of her mouth as the sclera surrounding her metallic irises were black as the night. Her smile was nostalgic yet haunting at the same time.

"Wha-" Ruby stood still as a board as her mother's hand brushed against her cheek.

 _"Shh, it-"_ Her mother's smile morphed into a sinister grin as black fluids began to leak from her eyes, her voice changing to an ear-piercing screech, _"-was going to happen anyway_."

The crimsonette suddenly felt a pair of hands clutching her throat as she was being pressed against the stone wall. The sudden strike caused her to drop her crossbow as her back slammed against stone. Her vision blurred as she kept clawing at the hands around her throat, and out of the corner of her sight she spotted another figure in the cave. Even through her cloudy vision, she saw the white hair and the same black dress from before.

'She's here again? Why-' She was wrenched out of her thoughts as she was pulled towards the floor, her back slammed against the ground while her mother kept her grip on her throat. Darkness began to encroach along the edges of her vision as she tried to pry her mother's hands off her, and in desperation her left hand reached out to where she dropped her weapon- her hand gripped around something before she grabbed it and bashed it against her mother's face.

The attack was enough to knock back her mother, and bought more than enough time for her to follow up with a kick square in the chest. The impact was enough to send her mother a couple feet away as Ruby stood up pointing whatever she had in her hand at her. She quickly noticed that she picked up the dagger that she discarded earlier and unsheathed the dagger.

Her mother didn't move from her spot as she stared down the crimsonette, her smile growing wider as a looming shadow began to form behind her. The cave around her began to morph into darkness as her crimson cloak slowly turned to black.

 _"Don't be scared, it's only fate that we submit to the darkness."_ With that, her mother melted into a black puddle, leaving the young faunus in the void alone.

In the next moment she felt a burning knife impale her left hand, causing her to drop her dagger and scream out in pain as the darkness began to morph again. The void shifted into the gray outline of several buildings, some covered in white flames. Ruby didn't have enough time to take in the change of the environment as the pain increased by tenfold. She felt her knees buckle as she laid on the floor.

 _"Ruby..."_

 _"-by..."_

 _"Ruby!"_

Several distorted voices called out her name as she cried out in pain. She held her hand close to her chest as she writhed on the ground, and when she looked up from the floor and saw six shadows in front of her. They formed into silhouettes of people that she couldn't identify- only three of them kept calling out her name as the others pursued those who were shouting.

One of the shadows stumbled as the one chasing it stood over them, wielding something that was darker than the shadows themselves. They raised the dark object over their head as the shadow extended their hand to block the attack, and for a second she imagined that she saw two yellow orbs on the shadow's face as they cried out.

 _"RUBY!"_

 _..._

The red-clad girl woke up in fright as she shot up from where she slept. It took her a moment to get her bearings as she realized that she was still at the mouth of the cave, and that the rain had stopped as light began to flood the stone chamber. The crimsonette rubbed her eyes before she inspected her left hand, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary as she checked. She let out a sigh of relief as she slumped against the stone wall, however her attention was drawn towards the insides of the cave. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust but she caught the outline of the dagger from... whatever hallucination she just had.

She cautiously approached the weapon and scooped it off the ground, examining the dagger and brushing off the dirt. The carving on the sheath became prominent and clear as she finishing dusting off the weapon. The blade glinted in the light as Ruby pulled it out of its scabbard, a line of rust trailing alongside the side. She inspected the base of the blade and let out a sigh.

 _R.R._

Ruby sheathed the dagger and pocketed it as she left the cave. She had spent enough time in this cave. Sunlight assaulted her eyes, causing her to instinctively squint until her eyes adjusted. The clouds had mostly parted while several puddles dotted the ground outside the cave. She quickly stopped by one of them and saw her reflection. She had dark bags underneath her eyes and her hair was messy- when was the last time she'd gotten a good night's sleep?

It doesn't matter right now- she needed to get to the Forever Fall Cliffs. Just as she slung her bag on her back, something caught her attention as she spotted movement through the tree line. She saw someone riding a horse and wearing plated armor, and they had a sword attached to their belt with a white mask over their face. A few moments later she saw several more figures approach from behind them.

"Great-" the crimsonette pulled her mask out of her bag and placed it over her face as she ran through the forest, "-just when I thought I was in the clear."

* * *

 _Sorry, school work has been piling up lately but I'll try to update my stories as often as possible._  
 _Also CH11 on the 11th, talk about coincidence._


End file.
